Adrian Newey ‘the right person for the job’ as Lance Stroll wishlist emerges

Lance Stroll says Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey is “the right person for the job” of creating his dream F1 car ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

It comes after a disappointing start to Aston Martin’s first season with new technical partner Honda.

Lance Stroll: Adrian Newey ‘right person’ to design my perfect F1 car

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Aston Martin has struggled so far this season, failing to score a point across the opening four races in Australia, China, Japan and Miami.

The team had been hindered by severe vibrations with its new Honda power unit in the early rounds, with Stroll’s teammate Fernando Alonso reporting a significant improvement at the last race after the Japanese manufacturer introduced its ‘countermeasures.’

The team recorded its first two-car finish of F1 2026 in Florida with Alonso and Stroll 15th and 17th respectively.

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As reported by PlanetF1.com in March, Newey is likely to vacate his current position as team principal in due course.

The 67-year-old is understood to have started the search for a new long-term team boss shortly after his own appointment to the role last November, with former Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley expected to take over.

The Audi F1 team announced the departure of Wheatley in March, less than 48 hours after PlanetF1.com revealed that he had emerged as Newey’s prime target for the Aston Martin job.

The appointment of a new team principal would theoretically allow Newey – the most successful individual in F1 history with involvement in more than 200 race wins and a combined 26 drivers’ and constructors’ titles – to concentrate fully on his design and development work.

Newey previously told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix that his new responsibilities as team principal were proving “a little bit” distracting from his core role.

In an interview with the Aston Martin F1 team’s official website, Stroll was asked to list his requirements for a ‘perfect racing car.’

The Canadian went on to claim that Newey would be “the right person for the job” of designing his dream machine, pointing to his work on Sebastian Vettel’s title-winning Red Bull cars of 2010-13.

He said: “I like strong mechanical grip in low-speed corners and good aero grip in high-speed corners.

“I like lighter cars with good change of direction and a responsive front end, but I also want a solid rear in heavy braking zones and combined-entry corners. I like a car that follows its nose.

“If I had to pick examples, a lot of the Adrian Newey-designed cars from Sebastian Vettel’s championship-winning era were close to perfect.

“So we’ve got the right person for the job.”

Stroll’s comments come after Honda issued an update on its progress ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend after resolving its vibration problem.

Shinatro Orihara, Honda’s trackside general manager and chief engineer, revealed that the Japanese manufacturer will now turn its attention to improving the driveability and engine management of the power unit.

Honda is expected to be among the first manufacturers to qualify for ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities), the safety-net scheme set up by the FIA to help struggling engine makers catch up under the F1 2026 rules.

The FIA confirmed last week that the first manufacturers eligible for ADUO will be notified in the aftermath of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend and will be allowed to implement upgrades ahead of the next race in Monaco.

In a statement issued to PlanetF1.com by Honda, Orihara said: “At the Miami Grand Prix, we confirmed our battery vibration improvements and our overall power unit reliability.

“It was also a key opportunity to learn on the energy management side under the updated 2026 regulations and this will continue in Canada.

“In Montreal, which is Lance’s home race, we will focus on enhancing the driveability and our energy management strategy to support the drivers in building more confidence.

“In fact, this is an important target of our race weekend.

“If we can give more confidence to the drivers in entering the corners faster and carrying more speed, then we unlock lap time.”

Alonso identified improvements to Aston Martin’s gearbox as a priority after the Miami Grand Prix, warning that the demands of Canada could prove troublesome for that specific component of the car.

He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “Honestly, the gearbox [was more problematic] the whole weekend than the engine, so I don’t know [if it was related to] the electronics or something.

“It was very weird on the downshifts and the upshifts, so not very well in control.

“That’s the number one fix for Canada. I think with all these heavy braking in Canada, we need to improve the gearbox behaviour.”

It is unclear if Aston Martin, which is producing its own gearbox for the first time this season following the conclusion of its partnership with Mercedes, has made any refinements in this area for Canada.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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