Fernando Alonso reveals what he ‘never saw before’ in F1 from Adrian Newey
Fernando Alonso and Adrian Newey have long held mutual respect, but are finally working together at Aston Martin.
Fernando Alonso has explained that, because of Adrian Newey’s confidence in his own designs, he feels “very safe” in his hands for next season’s regulation changes.
Newey took on the role of managing technical partner at Aston Martin this time last year, and has been hard at work on the team’s 2026 challenger as Formula 1 heads towards sweeping regulation changes.
Fernando Alonso: Adrian Newey has ‘a self confidence that probably I never saw before’
The pair had held mutual respect while being longtime rivals in Formula 1, with Newey having been at McLaren when Alonso debuted with Minardi and Renault, the legendary designer became a barrier to the Spanish driver’s success as he duelled with Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull, while the two-time World Champion was at Ferrari.
Newey had dubbed Alonso something of an “arch enemy at times” on track during those years, with Alonso having been close to moving to Red Bull himself in the past, but the two had long wanted to work together, which is now the case at Aston Martin.
The designer is spearheading the basis of the team’s next car in conjunction with Honda, with Aston Martin having sealed a factory power unit deal with the Japanese marque from next season.
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Having now had the opportunity to work with Newey, Alonso has been able to experience just what it is that helps him in his design process.
“For sure, the best ever designer in the sport, and no one probably will achieve the numbers that he has – and the way he works explains some of the results that he had,” Alonso said of Newey in a video released on Aston Martin’s YouTube channel.
“He has an incredible way of seeing the car as one piece that works together, not single devices that provide performance. He just can anticipate the whole car like in one piece.
“He seems in control of everything at all the time, [and has] a self confidence that probably I never saw before.
“He’s not stressed about any other team or any other philosophy or any other design. He believes that his will be the best.”
When asked how that makes him feel about his prospects, Alonso replied: “Very safe.
“He came to Monaco to the race. He was just in the garage, he’s not talking to many people, but at the same time, always thinking, and touching the front wing here, the suspension there. He’s, I think, an artist more than an engineer.”
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