‘He raises the bar’ - Fernando Alonso relishing chance to work with Adrian Newey

Fernando Alonso cannot wait for the “incredible opportunity” to work with Adrian Newey once the legendary F1 designer joins Aston Martin.

Aston Martin confirmed the signing of Newey as Managing Technical Partner following his Red Bull exit at a press conference on Tuesday at their luxury Silverstone F1 base.

The 65-year-old, who has won a total of 25 world championship titles during his career spanning stints at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, will start work in his new role leading Aston Martin’s technical division on March 1 2025.

Newey will join forces with two-time world champion Alonso, who is relishing the prospect to finally get the chance to drive the Briton’s cars.

"We have been racing against each other for many years. I would say he was an inspiration,” Alonso said at Aston Martin’s press conference.

"Thanks to Adrian's talent and cars, we all got better. Drivers, engineers, teams, we all had to raise the bar, thanks to him, to be able to compete.

“It’s an incredible day for the team. Lawrence's vision is taking shape with this building, with Adrian, with Honda, Aramco, the new wind tunnel. Definitely the team of the future.

"For me, it's an incredible opportunity professionally to work with Adrian.

"On a personal side, it's an incredible opportunity to work with people who you can learn so much from.

“I was talking with Lance a few weeks ago about the incredible opportunity we have to witness and to work with Lawrence and with everyone at Aston Martin.

“Definitely, we are learning a lot of things on track, off track as well. It is part of our growth, personally as well.”

Teammate Lance Stroll described the announcement as “the most exciting day in this team’s history”.

“Adrian’s won more championships than anyone in the paddock and now he’s wearing green. So it’s an extremely exciting day,” he added.

“2026 is not far away - a completely new set of regulations, a lot of opportunity. We’re really constructing an incredible team with so many talented people that are already here, and now Adrian is coming on board, so really exciting.”