Adrian Newey admits some of Aston Martin’s 2026 F1 problems are down to him

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Adrian Newey has highlighted areas where the Aston Martin AMR26 falls short, and he’s not shying away from his role in those issues.

As the 2026 season approached, many believed Newey’s arrival would mark the beginning of a successful period for Aston Martin.

Backed by Lawrence Stroll and with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel, there was genuine belief that Aston Martin could push their way into contention alongside McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

But things haven’t gone according to plan so far. The AMR26 has been off the pace right from the start, raising questions about its development over time.

Adrian Newey admits some of Aston Martin’s struggles fall on him

According to Spanish outlet Marca, there are also flaws on the aerodynamic front, even though that’s typically one of Newey’s strengths.

The report suggests Newey has acknowledged these problems and believes the AMR26’s chassis is only good enough for the middle of the pack.

It’s also been mentioned that if Aston Martin had continued with Mercedes power, they would be battling teams like Alpine and Haas.

On top of that, there are concerns that the AMR26 is overweight and lacks pace through high-speed corners.

Adrian Newey’s remarks on Aston Martin’s issues offended Honda

Before the season got underway in Melbourne, Newey appeared to blame Honda as the root of Aston Martin’s problem.

The 67-year-old claimed Aston Martin weren’t made aware of this until late last year.

He said: “They re-entered with let’s say only, I’m guessing, 30 per cent of their original team and now in a budget cap era. So they started very much on the back foot and unfortunately they’ve struggled to to catch back up.

“We only really became aware of it kind of November of last year when we – Lawrence [Stroll], Andy Cowell and myself – went to Tokyo to discuss as rumours starting to suggest that their original target power they wouldn’t achieve for race one.

According to Italian publication Motosport, Newey’s comments ‘offended’ people within Honda.

The report stated that Newey’s words led Shintaro Orihara, Honda’s chief engineer and trackside general manager, setting up an ‘urgent’ group to steer Aston Martin away from their early-season woes.

The unexpected break this month has come at a good time for Aston Martin as it allows them more time behind the scenes to improve. Next month F1 returns with the Miami Grand Prix where AMR26 will be under spotlight again.