Fresh Adrian Newey update as Alonso lifts lid on Aston Martin ‘learning phase’
Adrian Newey and Fernando Alonso have finally been united at Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso says it has been a “very special” period establishing a relationship with Adrian Newey at Aston Martin ahead of the F1 2026 season.
And he believes Newey’s understanding of what a driver requires will prove beneficial when F1’s new rules come into effect.
Fernando Alonso: Few people fully understand Adrian Newey
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Newey is currently working on Aston Martin’s first car under the new F1 2026 rules – expected to be named the AMR26 – having joined the team as managing technical partner in March.
The 66-year-old stands as the most successful individual in F1 history with involvement in more than 200 race wins and a combined 26 Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles for the likes of Williams, McLaren and Red Bull.
Aston Martin will enter a technical partnership with Honda, Red Bull’s current engine supplier, at the start of next season, raising expectations at the Silverstone-based outfit.
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Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Alonso expressed his excitement over this current “learning phase” as team and drivers understand what makes Newey tick.
Asked if he is beginning to understand how Newey thinks and works, Alonso said at Zandvoort: “Yes, definitely.
“You spend more time with him and you keep learning things and how he works and how he approach things, challenges, all these normal day-by-day, things in Formula 1.
“But I think he’s still a person that is very special and I think only few people will understand him fully and will be able to know exactly what he’s thinking and what he’s doing.
“So we will need more time. At the moment, we are in a phase of learning from him.
“Every conversation, every idea, everything that he says, we take it very carefully.
“We listen and we try to understand the approach that he’s taking into that comment.
“And thanks to that, I think we are growing as a team, so it has been very special for sure.”
More on Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin from PlanetF1.com
The F1 2026 season will see the sport embrace 50 per cent electrification, fully sustainable fuels and active aerodynamics as the chassis and engine rules change simultaneously.
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, claimed last week that the next-gen cars could approach 400 kilometres per hour on the straights when operating at full power.
Alonso confirmed that top speeds, as well as the approach to corner entry and the tyres, are set to be “very different” in F1 2026 compared to this year’s machinery.
And he believes Newey is better placed than most to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the new rules.
Asked if he gets the impression that Newey understands him too, Alonso replied: “I think so!
“I think all the questions and all the ideas that he raises, he explains why he thinks that it’s going to be a good solution for the team, for the car and for the drivers as well.
“In terms of how to approach the corner entry, maybe next year is very different than this year’s cars.
“Top speed is going to be different next year. Tyres are going to be different next year.
“So he tries to anticipate what the drivers will face in certain moments on the lap, in quali, versus the race and all this kind of thing.
“So he’s very educative.”
Read next: F1 uncovered: The challenges faced by F1 teams in 2026
