Aston Martin sent Adrian Newey warning: “One individual doesn’t guarantee success”

Former McLaren F1 mechanic Marc Priestley has warned Aston Martin that signing Adrian Newey won’t necessarily resolve their current lack of form.

In September 2024, Aston Martin announced Newey as their Managing Technical Partner. 

Newey will lead Aston Martin’s design team, officially assuming the role later this year.

However, Priestley has warned that Newey alone won’t guarantee Aston Martin’s future success.

Speaking to Casino Uden Rofus, Priestley said: “Adrian Newey is a fantastic engineer and has a brilliant mind, but one individual does not guarantee success when developing a new F1 car.

“I'm not saying that Aston Martin don't have a great team, but we've seen evidence that they have been pretty unsuccessful in designing a good car and then developing that car throughout the season.

“Newey is joining a team with very limited success, but Aston Martin have just attained new state-of-the-art factories, and the team is growing rapidly.”

Varying Success for Aston Martin

Since Lawrence Stroll’s acquisition of the Silverstone-based outfit, the team has experienced varied success.

In 2020, as Racing Point, they finished fourth in the F1 constructors’ championship, securing a win in Sakhir.

Fernando Alonso’s arrival in 2023 coincided with their best season yet. Aston Martin started the year as the second-fastest team behind Red Bull, scoring six podiums in eight races through Alonso.

Alonso narrowly missed out on a win in Monaco, with Aston Martin losing out on strategy during changeable conditions.

However, the last two years have followed a familiar pattern for Aston Martin as they struggled to develop their car effectively throughout the season.

Reflecting on Aston Martin's development woes, Alonso blamed the Mercedes wind tunnel.

"It's not an easy solution or an easy answer, because if not, probably we will do it a little bit easier than what we have found," the Spaniard told the BBC's Chequered Flag podcast.

"I think a problem of understanding a little bit the insides of the car, some of the wind tunnel problems that I think also Mercedes faced last year, in terms of developing the car. Our wind tunnel usage is a little bit limited by using the Mercedes tunnel."