Martin Brundle reveals ‘nasty’ Adrian Newey ‘habit’ with ‘something in his head’ warning

Having announced Adrian Newey, Martin Brundle has warned Aston Martin’s rivals that the design legend has a “nasty habit” of winning titles and will already have “something in his head” for 2026.

Aston Martin finally put an end to speculation about Newey’s future when they announced on Tuesday that he would join the team in March next year, having signed on as their new Managing Technical Partner.

Martin Brundle weighs in on the ‘genius’ that is Adrian Newey

The 65-year-old joins the team after two decades with Red Bull Racing that included 13 championship titles to go with the 12 he won with Williams and McLaren.

He is, as Brundle put it, one of the biggest names in the sport and one with a “nasty habit” that will concern Aston Martin’s rivals.

“Newey is a big name obviously in Formula One,” Brundle told Sky Sports as Aston Martin confirmed the design guru’s signing.

He’s had a nasty habit in his last three teams of being involved in multiple championship-winning chassis and team efforts, 12 Constructors’ and 13 Drivers’.

“He’s known as a bit of a genius in the business, and he sort of tends to bring success along with him. If you’re going to have Adrian with you, you need a certain amount of resource and control to go with that to make the best of his skills.

“But also we have 2026 coming up, which Adrian himself describes as the biggest step change in Formula One history due to the chassis and the aerodynamics and the engines all changing at the same time. And so he’s a man you’d want on board at that time.”

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Martin Brundle warns Aston Martin of hiccups that could await

He, though, doesn’t come cheap with reports the Briton will earn anything from £20 million to £30m per year depending on incentives and his Aston Martin shares.

But can the 65-year-old elevate Aston Martin from a points-scoring team into a championship-winning one?

“Well that’s a big challenge for a team, because if you’ve got Adrian Newey on board and you don’t win, well, then you’ve wasted Adrian Newey,” replied Brundle. “If you do win, it’s all about Adrian Newey. So it’s a problem they have to manage.”

But Brundle warned that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to integrating someone of Newey’s stature into a team.

“I have to say, Red Bull have been extremely good at using the genius of Adrian and compartmentalising other aspects to make sure they get the best out of him,” he continued.

“So, you know, Adrian is 66 years old on Boxing Day. He’s got this huge amount of success behind him. I’m sure this is probably his last roll of the dice with a big team, and he’ll want it to be a great success.

“You can be sure big picture stuff he’s the man you’d want looking at that. Will he be there minute-by-minute designing stuff?

“And of course, a team like Aston Martin, like the other big teams, will a long, long way north of 1000 people and you’ve got to make sure you keep those people motivated and incentivised as well, in terms of they don’t want to just be bit part players, so it’s quite a delicate operation to introduce Adrian into a team like that.”

Adrian Newey will already have ‘something in his head’ for 2026

But those are hiccups that will be worth it given not only Newey’s prowess as a designer but also his prior knowledge of Honda’s power unit ahead of the Japanese manufacturer’s 2026 partnership with Aston Martin.

Although he is joining Aston Martin in March already, the team stated in their press release that he will “lead” the 2026 car development when F1 puts all-new cars and engines on the grid.

“He’s worked with Honda at Red Bull, he’ll help enormously on that front as well, as will Andy Cowell the ex-Mercedes man who is becoming CEO,” Brundle said. “He’ll have something in his head already about the really massive change of aerodynamics that go with the new power units of 2026.

“I’d be absolutely sure that big picture stuff he’ll have a lot of critical ideas, and every so often he’ll just knock something in here and there that’ll that will make the difference.

“And also, he’s ruthless, is Adrian. If Adrian wants something, he will get it, even if it seems impossible time wise or absolutely impossible budget wise, he will persist until he gets what he knows is right and that’s why you need a team of some might to make the best use of him.”

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