Stoffel Vandoorne, Aston Martin’s reserve driver, acknowledged that Adrian Newey’s late arrival at the team did not help preparations for the 2026 Formula 1 season. Newey, a legendary F1 designer and now team principal at Aston Martin, joined the team in March 2025, with most competing teams having already started development of their 2026 cars months earlier. As a result, Aston Martin only began wind tunnel development in April, which contributed to a complicated start this year.
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In pre-season testing in Bahrain, the British team faced difficulties, finishing as the slowest and completing only 128 laps. Lance Stroll, for example, had his participation limited to just six laps on the final day due to serious problems with the engines supplied by Honda.
Vandoorne, speaking during the presentation of the Peugeot 9X8 in the 2026 World Endurance Championship (WEC), reflected on Aston Martin’s difficult situation in Formula 1. Despite this, he remains hopeful that Newey’s arrival will bring significant changes over time: “With Adrian in the team, anything is possible. He arrived a bit late, which didn’t help, but at least there is this positive momentum that can change things radically,” Vandoorne stated.
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The former McLaren driver highlighted that, although Aston Martin is not where it would like to be at the moment, the team has a lot of work ahead, especially in the integration with Honda, which still presents challenges: “The reality is that we need to keep our heads down, work hard and find performance. Testing was difficult, and we are not at the level we would like to be,” the Belgian driver added.
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