In his own words: Adrian Newey on the Aston Martin AMR26
Image: Aston Martin Aramco F1 team
Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey says the new AMR26 car is “much more” tightly packaged than the team has ever attempted before in F1.
The AMR26 is the first Aston Martin F1 car to be produced by Newey since the legendary designer completed his move from Red Bull last year.
Adrian Newey explains Aston Martin AMR26 design
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The car appeared on track for the first time at last month’s shakedown in Barcelona with the AMR26 strikingly different to other cars on the F1 2026 grid.
In PlanetF1.com’s in-depth analysis of the car, technical editor Matt Somerfield noted that several features of the AMR26 “appear to have Adrian Newey’s design DNA all over them.”
Newey has consistently built cars with tight packaging – effectively minimising the space occupied by internal components like the engine and gearbox to achieve maximum aerodynamic performance – over the course of his career.
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This detail was noted by Somerfield, who wrote that the car’s sidepods were “something to behold” and likened the “shock factor” of seeing them for the first time to the extreme zero-pod concept produced by Mercedes in 2022.
Somerfield went on to write that the “cavernous gap” between the sidepods undercut and the floor brought to mind the so-called ‘double floor’ concept tried by teams in the past, including Ferrari with the John Barnard-designed F92A of 1992 and the Toro Rosso STR6 of 2011.
In an interview with the official website of the Aston Martin F1 team, Newey admitted that the car has “quite a few features that haven’t necessarily been done before” by the Silverstone outfit.
Asked if he considers the AMR26 an aggressive interpretation of F1’s new regulations, he said: “I never look at any of my designs as aggressive.
“I just get on with things and pursue what we feel is the right direction.
“The direction we’ve taken could certainly be interpreted as aggressive. It’s got quite a few features that haven’t necessarily been done before.
“Does that make it aggressive? Possibly. Possibly not.”
Asked specifically about the car’s packaging, Newey grinned as he replied: “Yes. The car is tightly packaged.
“Much more tightly packaged than I believe has been attempted at Aston Martin Aramco before.
“This has required a very close working relationship with the mechanical designers to achieve the aerodynamic shapes we wanted.
“But I have to say that all the mechanical designers here have really embraced that philosophy.
“It hasn’t made their life easy, quite the opposite, but they’ve really risen to the challenge.”
Invited to explain the design approach of the AMR26, Newey explained: “It starts with the overall packaging of the car: where is the car carried over the wheelbase, where are the main masses carried.
“Then it’s worked through to the front and rear suspension – the front and rear suspension both have their own very important part to play in that manipulation of the flow field.
“You’ve got the front wing and the nose shape, which are somewhat different this year.
“You keep moving through to the sidepods, and the treatment around the rear of the car, which is certainly different to what we’ve done previously.
“Now, whether other people come up with a similar solution to ours, we don’t know and we won’t until we start seeing other people’s cars.
“We’ve just tried to pursue what we think is the correct direction for us. Other people might have pursued other directions.
“It’s part of the excitement of new regulations, seeing what everybody comes up with.”
Asked what areas of the car he is most satisfied with, Newey said: “That is a question I’m often asked.
“I honestly don’t have a favourite, ‘Look at that bit, Mum,’ part of the car. To me, the design of a car is about the holistic package.
“There’s no one individual part that’s likely to make the difference. It’s how all those parts come together.
“It’s how they talk to each other to create a car that works in harmony with the driver and performs aerodynamically, mechanically, and in terms of vehicle dynamics.”
Put to him that the standout is that there is no standout, he grinned: “Yes.”
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