Newey's dual role at Aston Martin raises red flags as drivers left out of car development

Adrian Newey has acknowledged that Aston Martin failed to consult its drivers sufficiently during the development of their 2025 car, a revelation that former Formula 1 presenter Will Buxton has described as a significant “red flag” as the Silverstone outfit endures a disastrous start to the season.

Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast alongside former F1 driver David Coulthard and pundit Naomi Schiff, Buxton pointed to Newey’s unprecedented dual workload as a potential source of the team’s problems. Newey joined Aston Martin as managing technical partner and shareholder in 2025 and is set to assume the team principal role in 2026 while continuing to lead the technical operation.

“When the team have to admit, and Adrian has to admit, ‘Actually, I didn’t consult the drivers as much as I should have done,’ that feels like a bit of a red flag,” Buxton said. He added that it remains unclear whether Newey’s administrative responsibilities are pulling him away from design work, or whether his focus on design is compromising his oversight of the broader team.

“I don’t know how much of this stems from Adrian ultimately being team principal and in a role that he’s not used to, because he’s so used to siloing himself and focusing on the design,” Buxton explained. “Something there isn’t meshing right now.”

Coulthard was sceptical about how much technical input drivers can realistically offer on specific design choices, but agreed that Newey’s concentration of responsibilities is a legitimate concern. “I do find it unusual to be team principal and leading the technical charge, and a partner,” he said. “We only have so many hours in the day. He’s just going to be diluting his brainpower.”

The comments come as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll continue to grapple with a car that has left them well off the pace of the leading teams. Aston Martin’s trajectory is particularly striking given the high expectations that accompanied Newey’s high-profile arrival, and the admission that driver feedback was under-utilised during development will do little to ease concerns about the team’s direction heading into the second half of the season.