Newey "in a trance" designing 2026 Aston Martin F1 car - Stroll

Lance Stroll has exuberantly hailed Adrian Newey’s impact on the Aston Martin team, as the legendary engineer contributes to its 2026 Formula 1 car design.

Newey joined Aston Martin on 1 March as a ‘managing technical partner’ after completing his Red Bull-induced gardening leave. The Briton has reportedly refrained from giving the current AMR25 any consideration, despite yet another difficult season for the Lawrence Stroll-owned outfit, which lies sixth in the 2025 constructors’ championship without a single podium finish to its name.

Newey has reportedly been focusing on the new technical regulations for 2026, which include active aerodynamics on both wings as well as new power units featuring more reliance on electrical power.

The overhaul is an opportunity for Aston Martin to become a consistent frontrunner for the first time in its 35-year history – since its founding as Jordan Grand Prix ahead of the 1991 F1 season.

“Adrian right now I think is in a trance, focused on drawing next year's car,” Lance Stroll said. “He's just so passionate and excited about the new regs.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing, Adrian Newey, Chief Technical Officer of Aston Martin F1

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

“What's awesome to see is just how much passion, focus, effort is going into the new regs and the team too, just being in a new environment, a new team, how he's just uplifting everyone, and just creating this healthier culture inside of the whole factory – that's pretty awesome to see.

“He's been doing it for this long and he's won more championships than anyone in this paddock, so I guess that says it all.”

Newey did lead Williams, McLaren and Red Bull to multiple world titles in the past, but it is quite unusual for Stroll to display this level of bullishness and loquacity – to the extent that he was asked why he had such a big smile when talking about Newey.

“Because I think there's not much reason not to smile about Adrian Newey making next year's car,” the Canadian replied. “It's all exciting times.”