Newey already drawing talent to Aston Martin - de la Rosa

The 'Adrian Newey effect' is already being felt at Aston Martin, according to team ambassador Pedro de la Rosa.

The former Formula 1 driver isn’t talking about lap times or car upgrades just yet, and he says Newey’s actual input into Aston Martin’s 2025 car has so far been minimal.

But behind the scenes, the legendary designer is already having a major impact.

"The change is tremendous," de la Rosa told Soy Motor. "Since the announcement that Newey was coming to us, there has been a complete shift. More people want to come and work at Aston Martin, from the other teams yes but especially from the universities.

"It's something no one had thought could happen, but it's happening because young engineers want to work with real experts like that to learn more quickly.

"It's something you sometimes don't appreciate, as we always look to Adrian Newey as the one who builds winning cars, but for us, the new generation of Neweys who want to work with him are very important too, because they will be the future of Aston Martin.

"Sometimes we focus on the big names, but teams win thanks to everything - the big names but also the unsung heroes who will one day occupy that position."

De la Rosa, now 54, also revealed that Aston Martin is already working closely with Honda on the 2026 project, despite the Japanese company still supplying engines to Red Bull for now.

"We work with Honda every day," he said. "Luca Furbatto, our head of design, works with Honda every day. We've designed a gearbox ourselves for the first time, and it has to be perfectly matched to the engine.

"The exchange of information between Aston Martin and Honda is daily, and many of our engineers go to Honda and Honda engineers come to the factory. Right now it's difficult to tell who is from Aston Martin and who is from Honda, because we're working on the same team."

Meanwhile, Ralf Schumacher has made headlines for suggesting the opposite dynamic is unfolding at Red Bull.

According to Sport1, the German has upset Red Bull with fresh criticism directed at team principal Christian Horner.

Schumacher told Sky Deutschland that Horner's continued leadership may be driving talent away.

"The truth is that it's not just important employees who left Red Bull because of Horner," he said. "There are also talented engineers who don't want to go to Red Bull as long as Horner is in charge. "Max Verstappen should also think about that when it comes to his future."