Andy Cowell, principal of the Aston Martin Formula One team, rejected the proposal that Adrian Newey is acting as a “dictator,” and praised the legendary car designer with a collaborative approach.
Newey began working at Aston Martin in March and joined Red Bull as a managing technology partner.
The 66-year-old will lead the Aston Martin design team with a focus on next year.
Aston Martin will link to Honda in 2026 and will effectively become a Works Team.
By combining Newey’s influence with Honda’s partnership, Aston Martin hopes to raise the hierarchy.
In an interview with Sky F1 over the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, Cowell talked about Newey’s early influences and his approach.
“He joined us at the beginning of March and he was straightened out to understand regulations, a concept created so far by the team,” explained Cowell.
“He is an engineer and works on drawing boards, but he works very well in a small group talking about the details of race cars.
“It’s not a kind of dictatorial method, it’s very interested in detail and explains things from the first principle.”
Newey signs “Exciting Time for Us”
In recent seasons, Aston Martin began the year strongly before struggling with development during the season.
In 2023, Aston Martin was the second fastest team after Red Bull, but by the end of the year they had slid to fifth place in constructor positions.
Fernando Alonso was unable to replicate his impressive podium, but that was the same last year.
Aston Martin started in 2025 with backfoot, but the recent upgrade at Imola appears to have changed the season.
Alonso has since challenged points consistently in the third quarter and finished the “best of the rest” in Montreal.
Cowell revealed that Newey has been impacting the race weekend this year.
“He sees everything in the way he changes the ride height in two minutes between sessions, so he can adjust the car during the race.
“He’s had a great experience and it’s an exciting time for us.”