Yesterday at 11:40
Aston Martin is developing its F1 car for the 2026 season at a rate
"quicker" than it has ever seen before, according to team principal
and CEO Andy Cowell. The 56-year-old spoke about the twin impact of
the Silverstone squad's new wind tunnel and adding world-class
aerodynamicist Adrian Newey into the fold, highlighting how he
"pushes the boundaries" of what is possible. Although mired in a
difficult campaign at the end of the current F1 rules set, the
regulations overhaul on the horizon provides significant
opportunity for Aston Martin, especially given the considerable
financial strength afforded through owner Lawrence Stroll. The
Canadian has bankrolled wholesale upgrades to the team's base and
brought in major signings, including Newey, to spearhead the
operation as the new era looms. So, despite the team having slipped
to a lowly eighth place in the constructors' standings this term,
there is optimism that Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will have
more competitive machinery next season. "The new facilities just
help us have everything at our fingertips," Cowell told media,
including RacingNews365 . "Having the aerodynamicists a short
stroll away from the model build area and the wind tunnel section
just helps speed everything up. "Having Adrian join us since March,
firing up the drawing board, and the machine that is required
downstream of that, has just added some extra impetus to what we're
doing for '26... We had both Fernando and Lance in the wind tunnel
section with the model and Adrian. "Adrian was talking about the
features on the model... he pushes the boundaries. He packages ten
things into the space where only one would normally fit, and all
the engineers see that as a challenge." Lofty praise from Cowell
Cowell, who took over team principal responsibilities from Mike
Krack at the turn of the year, likened the development to "watching
100 people all run 100 metres sub-ten seconds, with perfect baton
passes" to emphasise just how slick and well-oiled the team is.
This is directly being translated into the 2026 car, which, powered
by Honda as part of a new works deal, hopes to fight at the front
again, as it did for the first half of 2023. "It's not just the
engineers," Cowell added. "It's the whole group of people within
the aerodynamics development area. "The pace with which we're
creating changes on the '26 wind tunnel model is quicker than we've
ever done before. It really is very impressive. "It is like
watching 100 people all run 100 metres sub-ten seconds, with
perfect baton passes. It's very exciting to see, and all of that is
enabled by having the facilities, and the people and the methods.
So yeah, it's an exciting journey into '26."
