Adrian Newey, boss of Aston Martin: “For 2027, Honda has many projects and initiatives underway that seem very promising to us. I have full confidence that they will move forward quickly”

Adrian Newey, Aston Martin team boss, appeared at the team leaders’ press conference F1 United States GPfocusing the vast majority of questions as already happened in Hungaryhis previous public appearance.

On that occasion, he spoke of changing the team’s competitive direction with the introduction of a completely new chassis that same weekend. The situation improved a lot, but the car was still far from its objectives, above all, weighed down by a Honda engine with a lot of lack of power on the straight and other problems.

Therefore, the focus of the press conference was on Honda, its current situation, its little progress during the year despite having introduced an evolution of the ADUO engine (concession system for motorcyclists) and the short-term future with the Japanese motorcyclist. Newey publicly supported the Japanese firm and was confident in the progress of the Asians for 2027 and the future.

“Honda is working hard, of course. They are a great company, as we all know, capable of doing great things, as they have proven many times in the past. We are working closely with them and we have high hopes for the future,” Adrian said.

He was asked if what he sees now at Honda is similar to what he saw when Red Bull joined the Japanese in 2019. But he rejected that comparison.

“Honestly, I would say that, for now, Honda is a little bit behind where they were when Red Bull started working with them in 2019. But then it had been four seasons since their return to Formula 1 in 2015. This is his first season back in F1 (after leaving in 2021). I repeat myself, but they are a great company. “I have every confidence that they will move quickly and understand the issues that these power unit regulations pose.”argument.

Lawrence Stroll’s meeting with Honda

It was then that Lawrence Stroll’s trip to Japan last week to meet with Honda’s leadership was put on the table. Newey stressed that this was something that had been planned for a long time. And they also asked him how much of the deficit compared to the best teams is the fault of the chassis or the engine. There he did not want to go into details.

“Well, first of all, that meeting was already scheduled. Honda and Aston Martin hold so-called ‘senior management meetings’, which are organized every two or three months, and this was one of them. The rest, including me, participated by videoconference,” he commented.

“I think that the current deficit is quite clear and is reflected in the ADUO (the report carried out by the FIA ​​and in which it indicates how disadvantaged each motorist is in relation to the best engine). Of course, the ADUO only measures power, and we all know that there are many other factors that, together, determine the overall performance of a power unit installed in the chassis. So there is no point in dwelling on that too much,” he added.

“As for your other question, I don’t think it’s my place to say what the relative deficit of the chassis and engine is. If people look at the GPS data, they can get a much clearer idea,” he said.

2027

“Looking ahead to 2027, Honda now has many projects and initiatives underway that may still be in the early stages of development, but which look very promising to us. It is too early to say exactly where the power unit will be at the start of the season and whether, assuming the power unit allows, there will be further development ahead of the eighth race, at the end of the first period (of the ADUO),” he continued in his response.

Furthermore, he made it clear that not everything is power. But you have to look at the power unit as a whole.

“As you can imagine, I totally agree with what Ferrari said: it’s not just about the horsepower, it’s about the whole package. What’s important is what makes the car faster. With Honda, we are always analyzing these issues and working to create the best possible package, the one that allows us to achieve the best lap time,” he reflected.

“Honda has probably been a little disappointed by the progress it has made this year. However, as always, or as often happens in these situations, this only reinforces the determination to continue moving forward. The future is, evidently, what is important for both companies. As I have already mentioned, they are very determined. These things don’t change overnight, but they now have many very capable people and good work processes.

Teamwork and change of work culture

“The last time you were at this press conference, in Hungary, you said that you wanted everyone to work together in the team and that you wanted to change its culture. How much progress have you made in those aspects since then?” He was asked about the Aston Martin factory and work in the design office.

“I think we’re making a lot of progress. Now, it really looks like the team is starting to function as a single unit. In particular, the team spirit within the engineering offices is very good. I see that many ideas are generated, that people talk a lot among themselves and that they work late into the night. I’m very impressed by how everyone is responding individually. It shows… I don’t know how to express it well: now you can see that enthusiasm in the factory.

This question is for Adrian. I’m here, Adrian. After your first season working with Fernando, what impression has he made on you compared to other drivers you have worked with and taking into account the level he continues to show?

“Alonso is one of the greatest of all time”

The considered best designer in the history of F1 also praised Fernando Alonso.

“Fernando is, without a doubt, one of the greats of all time. “I think that, as with all the great drivers I have been lucky enough to work with, one of the things that sets them apart is the mental processing capacity they have,” he noted.

“To drive a car you already need a certain mental capacity, but in the case of really exceptional drivers you have the impression that this part is practically in the subconscious. That leaves the conscious mind free to process everything else.: understand how the tires behave, how the race evolves, how they can modify their driving style to adapt to the balance of the car at that specific moment, and much more.. “Fernando, like the other great drivers, clearly belongs to that category.”he concluded on the matter.

Changed the initial concept of the car

Adrian Newey also admitted that this year, since he introduced the new Hungarian chassis, he changed his initial idea of ​​a car with a much more radical inclination of the ground towards the rear (rake) than the rest of the cars. It didn’t work.

“It’s a good observation. When I arrived in early March, virtually no aerodynamic research had been done. If you then take into account the planned release dates for the main parts before the August break and later for the bodywork, spoilers and so on, around November, you realize that we had a very short and concentrated research period,” Newey explained.

He continued: “I studied the rules and thought it might favor a solution with a high rake, which was the direction we went. I honestly think that concept had some strengths, but also some weaknesses. “Now we are back to what I would describe as a middle ground solution, which we consider to be quite good.”.