Newey downplays ‘extreme’ Aston, Vowles impressed

Feb.4 (GMM) Adrian Newey has played down talk of a radical first Aston Martin design despite widespread paddock admiration after the delayed AMR26 finally appeared at the tail end of the Barcelona shakedown week.

The car, which has yet to run in green livery and only just made the track after a compressed development program, immediately drew attention for its unusual geometry – including highly unconventional suspension layouts.

Even rivals were impressed. James Vowles, leading the delayed Williams project, singled out Newey’s influence.

“As for Adrian, you can see the upper wishbone is a little different,” Vowles said. “Very impressive, very creative, very extreme. I’d like to be the designer of that car, let’s put it that way.

“It’s very impressive, with trapezoids on trapezoids in places I don’t think they should be – but he’s done it,” he told selected media.

Newey, however, struck a far more cautious tone when discussing his first Aston Martin, stressing the uncertainty surrounding the all-new 2026 regulations.

“With a completely new set of regulations, nobody is ever sure what the right philosophy is,” said the Briton, who joined Aston Martin last year.

“Even me,” he added with a laugh. “We certainly aren’t sure what the best interpretation of the regulations is. Because of the compressed timescale, we chose a particular direction and pursued it. Whether it proves to be the right one or not, only time will tell.”

Asked whether the AMR26 represents an aggressive reading of the rules, Newey was characteristically philosophical.

“I never look at any of my designs as aggressive,” he said. “We just pursue what we feel is the right direction. The direction we’ve taken could be interpreted as aggressive. It’s got quite a few features that haven’t necessarily been done before. Does that make it aggressive? Possibly. Possibly not.”

Rather than highlighting individual innovations, Newey emphasised the overall concept.

“I don’t have a favourite ‘look at that bit’ part of the car,” he explained. “Design is about the holistic package. No single part makes the difference – it’s how everything works together, aerodynamically, mechanically and in terms of vehicle dynamics.”

He also acknowledged that rivals may yet converge on similar solutions once full testing begins.

“We don’t know if others will come up with something similar until we see their cars,” he said. “That’s part of the excitement of new regulations – seeing what everyone comes up with.”

One familiar Newey hallmark has survived the regulation reset – extreme packaging at the rear.

“The car is tightly packaged – much more tightly than Aston Martin has attempted before,” he admitted. “That required a very close relationship with the mechanical designers. It hasn’t made their lives easy, but they’ve really embraced the philosophy.”

Newey also revealed just how far behind schedule the project initially was, with Aston Martin entering the 2026 cycle months later than its rivals.

“The (factory) was still evolving, the wind tunnel wasn’t fully operational until April, and I only joined last March,” he said. “We didn’t get a 2026 model into the tunnel until mid-April, whereas most teams would have started in January. That put us about four months behind.

“It’s been an extremely compressed research and design cycle. The car only came together at the last minute – which is why we were fighting to make the Barcelona shakedown at all.”

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