Untelevised Adrian Newey, Fernando Alonso team radio emerges after Dutch GP

Untelevised team radio footage from the Dutch Grand Prix has revealed the moment Adrian Newey congratulated Fernando Alonso on “a great drive.”

It comes after Alonso secured Aston Martin’s second points finish of the F1 2026 season at Zandvoort.

Adrian Newey congratulates Fernando Alonso over team radio

Alonso finished an impressive ninth on Sunday as Honda’s upgraded power unit made its highly anticipated race debut.

The new Honda engine came hot on the heels of a major AMR26 upgrade package at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the final race before the summer break.

Alonso’s ninth place saw him score points for the first time since the Monaco Grand Prix on June 7.

And Newey, the Aston Martin team principal, was among those to congratulate the two-time world champion after Alonso crossed the finish line at Zandvoort.

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The full exchange went as follows:

Engineer: “Lovely, lovely job mate. P9. Well done.”

Alonso: “Good points, well deserved and a very good car to drive.”

Engineer: “Yeah, copy mate. The radio is painful so we’re not catching everything you’re saying but, yeah, top job.”

Alonso: “Maybe that was good news for you guys…”

Newey: “Well done, Fernando. That was a great drive.”

Alonso: “Yeah, absolutely. Thanks to you guys, everyone in Silverstone. Amazing. And more to come, I know. Thank you, thank you.”

Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets after the race, Alonso confirmed that he was struggling with an issue with his team radio communications over the course of the race.

He said: “I couldn’t hear them and apparently they couldn’t hear me, which is good news sometimes I guess!”

Asked if the issue impacted his race strategy, he added: “No, no, no. The strategy was clear.

“But some of the blue flags, the overtaking manoeuvres that we have to defend, these kind of things were frustrating at times.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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