Aston Martin has made it clear that Adrian Newey will not be tasked with rescuing the team's faltering 2025 Formula 1 season.
The ambitious outfit has consistently emphasised its focus on the 2026 season, with Newey actively working on car design for over a month now since joining in March.
However, the team appears taken aback by the stark lack of competitiveness in its 2025 car, raising questions about whether Newey's expertise might be needed sooner.
Team principal Andy Cowell addressed the matter in Jeddah, stating, "100 percent of Adrian's design time is focused on 2026. He joined in March, there was an adaptation period with the regulations and the concept work we had done in the previous two months, and there were also deadlines to meet with the chassis and transmission. The 2026 cars will be testing at the end of January, so to get the car ready, we have to bring forward the deadlines. And everything is new—nothing is inherited from these cars, so there is a lot of work, and Adrian is focused on that."
Fernando Alonso, who has yet to score a point this season, recently noted that, to his knowledge, Newey has "no big ideas" for quick fixes to the 2025 car.
Now, in Saudi Arabia, the Spaniard reinforced Cowell's stance. "I think he (Newey) is working only on 2026," Alonso said.
"So if he's deciding that, and I think ultimately it is his decision, then with his experience and knowledge I totally support that."
Alonso dismissed speculation about Max Verstappen joining him as a teammate in 2026 but acknowledged that such rumours reflect Aston Martin's growing reputation as a team with future potential. "I sometimes say we are not the team of the present, and that is what I would like to have, because in the future I don't know if I will be behind the wheel," the two-time champion said.
"But I do enjoy the process that we are in now and the building of this team of the future. But I will do my best to help us achieve the best results as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, PIF, is "on the verge of acquiring ownership" of the team owned by billionaire Lawrence Stroll.
