Adrian Newey holds double McLaren MCL40 inspection at Monaco Grand Prix

Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey was spotted by PlanetF1.com examining the McLaren MCL40 cars of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on the grid ahead of Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Newey, who was appointed Aston Martin team principal ahead of the F1 2026 season, made a welcome return to the paddock in Monte Carlo last weekend.

Adrian Newey examines McLaren MCL40 on Monaco Grand Prix grid

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As reported by PlanetF1.com last week, the 67-year-old had not attended a race since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March, with reports last month claiming he recently suffered a bout of illness.

Newey’s return to trackside activities coincided with Aston Martin’s first points finish of F1 2026, with Fernando Alonso eventually classified in 10th place.

Newey, the most successful designer in F1 history, is renowned for studying the designs of rival teams on the starting grid ahead of the race.

And the Aston Martin boss was spotted by PlanetF1.com’s on-the-ground reporter Thomas Maher examining Lando Norris’s McLaren shortly before the Monaco Grand Prix (below).

Newey was then seen moving to the other side of the grid to inspect the sister McLaren of Oscar Piastri (below), who started one place ahead of Norris in seventh.

As reported at the time by PlanetF1.com, Newey’s only previous trackside appearance of F1 2026 in Melbourne saw him pay close attention to the Audi R26 of Nico Hulkenberg.

He was also spotted examining Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari SF-26 on the grid at Albert Park.

Newey is known to have a long-standing interest in the technical development of McLaren, where his former Red Bull colleague Rob Marshall acts as the team’s chief technical officer and chief designer.

Newey attended three races with Aston Martin over the course of the 2025 season and was spotted inspecting the title-winning MCL39 car on each occasion in Monte Carlo, Britain and Qatar.

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PlanetF1.com revealed in March that Newey is set to vacate the position of Aston Martin team principal in due course.

The veteran designer is understood to have led the search for his long-term successor since his own appointment to the position last year, with Jonathan Wheatley emerging as Newey’s prime target.

The Audi F1 team went on to confirm the departure of Wheatley within 48 hours of PlanetF1.com’s report being published.

Wheatley previously worked alongside Newey at Red Bull as sporting director, playing an instrumental role in the team’s dominance with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

Wheatley announced his departure from Red Bull in 2024 to take up his first role as a team boss with Sauber, overseeing the team’s Audi F1 transition for F1 2026.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in Australia, Newey admitted that he has found his new responsibilities as team principal “a little bit” distracting from his core work on the design and development side.

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