Fernando Alonso’s words about Newey at Aston Martin dampen all the enthusiasm. Then, his comments on the AMR24 at Monza.
Fernando Alonso is completely unfiltered! The Aston Martin driver made some bold and clear statements regarding the “market” and the paddock rumors involving Lawrence Stroll’s team. Aston Martin is undoubtedly at the center of this, with the huge coup of Adrian Newey, who is very close to joining the team. The legendary “magician” from Red Bull left Horner’s squad a few months ago, and many have pointed to the lack of a key figure like Newey as the main reason for the team’s inefficiencies in development this season.
The results from Miami onwards, although Helmut Marko has repeatedly denied that Adrian’s departure was the main issue behind the RB20’s development struggles,are evident to all: Red Bull has seen a significant drop, with no victories in the last six GPs (a first since 2020), and for the first time, Max Verstappen has been forced to defend his World Championship title. This is why someone like Adrian Newey, capable of creating “spaceships” from just a piece of paper, could be the perfect addition to a team with big ambitions like Aston Martin, which has yet to truly take off.
Alonso’s words on Newey and the AMR24
Long courted by Ferrari, Adrian Newey and Maranello won’t be joining forces, as previously confirmed by Fred Vasseur after the summer break. The French team principal used a brilliant (but surprising) metaphor: “Even PSG (in football) spends millions on the best players in the world, but in the end, they never win what truly matters, the Champions League”. A perfect summary, which seems to have paved the way for Fernando Alonso’s words, who, in Venice (where Aston Martin showcased the “Vanquish” road model), spoke about Adrian Newey’s now-imminent arrival.
The Spanish driver had this to say about Adrian joining Lawrence Stroll’s team: “Well, for now, it’s just rumors. In any case, I believe it’s not the job of just one person to fix things. So, the focus right now is more about understanding what we have and what we’re working on, figuring out what’s going on and finding the right direction, so we can best prepare for the 2025 season.”
Regarding the Monza weekend, where he finished where he started (in 11th place), Fernando said: “Obviously, there’s nothing we can do. We’re in the hands of our team, and I think both Lance and I are trying to do our best every weekend, and an inspired weekend like this one from my side won’t be remembered, even though it was a good weekend. I think this year, Lance and I have been very close, and Monza was one of those weekends where I did a bit better, I was happy with the car, and I pushed beyond the 100% level, but we only got an 11th place, so I’m disappointed with that”.
Finally, the two-time World Champion spoke about Aston Martin’s season so far, addressing the team’s current and future objectives: “We need to be patient and understand that the big target is 2026. At the same time, I think as a team, we can accept that we’re not in the fight for the top four, as those are the leading teams, and they are far ahead of us. But now, we need to raise the bar because we’re behind Williams, Haas, and Racing Bulls, and we need to improve.”
Photo: Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team
