F1 pundit reacts to Aston Martin's post about Adrian Newey's first day with the team
Former F1 driver and pundit Karun Chandhok claimed that March 3 marked the beginning of a new era in Adrian Newey's career in the sport. The aero wizard joined mercedes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Aston Martin in September last year after announcing his departure from Red Bull in early May.
Many reports claimed that a possible internal struggle within the Austrian team might have led the most iconic aerodynamicist to leave the Milton Keynes outfit. However, Newey believed that he needed a new challenge in an already illustrious career spanning close to four decades at the pinnacle of motorsport.
After completing his gardening leave from Red Bull, Adrian Newey officially began working with Aston Martin on Monday, March 3. The Silverstone-based outfit posted an image of his office in the new factory with his legendary whiteboard inside.
Reposting the picture on his Instagram Story, Karun Chandhok optimistically wrote:
"A new era in the already incredible Adrian Newey story begins today..."
Adrian Newey has worked for legendary teams like Lyeton House in the 80s, Williams in the early 90s, McLaren from 1997 to 2005, and Red Bull from 2006 to 2024 and won titles with each team apart from the smaller Lyeton House.
Aston Martin CEO reflected on Adrian Newey's arrival to the team
Aston Martin CEO and team principal Andy Cowell believed that Adrian Newey's competitiveness and creativity would be enhanced and not "stifled" at the Silverstone-based outfit.
Speaking with Sky Sports, the former Mercedes man reflected on his arrival and said:
"Adrian is very competitive, he's very creative, and as an organization we need to harness that, not stifle it. All the people that operate in the creative area, how do we provide an amazing environment - both personally as you come to work, [and] as you work in the building with other people?
"How do we make sure the tools are top drawer - the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), the wind tunnel, the manufacturing facilities? And therefore I think that's the thing that inspires creative people."
Speaking with BBC F1: Back at Base podcast, Newey believed that his initial few days would go into meeting and getting to know his new team members and added:
"I'm just looking forward to it and what will be, will be. The first target really is to get to know everybody here, understand how everybody works, and try to integrate myself with everybody. It's talking to the drivers, it's talking to my fellow engineers, trying to bounce ideas off them. Getting that sort of creative flow going."
It is widely expected that the F1 legend will focus mainly on the new regulations coming in 2026 rather than improving the AMR25, which is in its final year under the current regulations.