Revealed: F1 design genius Adrian Newey’s Aston Martin start date

Legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey will start work in his new role with Aston Martin on 3 March, Crash.net has learned.

Newey, widely considered to be F1’s greatest ever designer having created 14 championship-winning cars over the past three decades, is joining Aston Martin after deciding to quit Red Bull after a 19-year stint.

Aston Martin won the race to sign the 66-year-old Briton after his exit from Red Bull was confirmed in May last year in the wake of the controversy surrounding team principal Christian Horner.

Ferrari had long been thought to be the frontrunners to sign Newey but the mouth-watering prospect of him teaming up with Lewis Hamilton will not happen after Aston Martin ultimately secured his services.

Newey is said to have agreed a five-year contract worth up to a possible £30m a year in his new role as Managing Technical Partner.

Former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan, who manages Newey, was able to help him negotiate a quicker exit that avoided an extended period of gardening leave.

Announcing Newey’s departure, Red Bull said he would leave the company in “the first quarter of 2025”. It then emerged Newey would link up with Aston Martin in March.

Crash.net understands that Newey’s first official day working for Aston Martin will be on Monday 3 March.

Newey was present at Aston Martin’s brand new Silverstone campus when the announcement was made last September.

The task Newey faces

Given he will arrive too late to have an early influence on Aston Martin’s 2025 challenger, Newey’s main focus will be on the 2026 regulation shake-up.

Teams were able to start work on their 2026 cars on 1 January and Newey’s expertise will be key to Aston Martin’s fortunes.

Aston Martin have set lofty ambitions to challenge for and win world championships in the coming years and the 2026 rules overhaul is seen as the team’s best chance of making the leap towards the front of the grid.

The team will be boosted by a new state-of-the-art wind tunnel becoming operational by then, as well as an exclusive power unit supply deal with Japanese manufacturer Honda.

Aston Martin finished fifth in the constructors’ championship for the second consecutive season last term.

Newey said team owner Lawrence Stroll’s ambitious plans had ultimately convinced him to join Aston Martin, where he will also get to realise one of his long-term goals of working with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

"I have been hugely inspired and impressed by the passion and commitment that Lawrence brings to everything he is involved with,” Newey explained.

"Lawrence is determined to create a world-beating team. He is the only majority team owner who is actively engaged in the sport.

"His commitment is demonstrated in the development of the new AMR Technology Campus and wind tunnel at Silverstone, which are not only state-of-the-art but have a layout that creates a great environment to work in.

”Together with great partners like Honda and Aramco, they have all the key pieces of infrastructure needed to make Aston Martin a world championship-winning team and I am very much looking forward to helping reach that goal."