The design guru, who is leaving Red Bull for Aston in March, has his sights set on the next set of regulations
Independent premium
Want to bookmark your favorite articles and stories to read or reference later?Start your independent premium club today.
Adrian Newey believes a team can borrow a step over the rest of the F1 network in 2026 when the new engine regulations come into force, in the same way as Mercedes did in 2014.
F1 design guru Newey, the man chiefly responsible for the dominant Red Bull car which has guided Max Verstappen to his last four world championships, is joining Aston Martin in a blockbuster move in March.
While the 2025 Aston car has been in the works for a long time, Newey will have its attractions set next year when new engines and chassis are applied, with the prospective to the hotel up to the pecking order in the paddock.
The era of Mercedes domination by starting the hybrid engine era in 2014, while Toto Wolff’s cellar has nailed the regulation of the electric unit, leading to one of the maximum dominant eras in the game and in 8 consecutive manufacturers’ championships.
And Newey, who has been worried in F1 for more than 30 years by Williams and McLaren, as well as Red Bull, plans a prognosis for next year.
“There will have to be a wonderful possibility that it’s an engine formula at the beginning,” Newey told German Auto Motor Und Sport.
“The reality is I can’t remember another time in Formula 1 when both the chassis regulations and the regulations have changed simultaneously. And in this case the chassis regulations have been very much written to try to compensate, let’s say, for the power unit regulations.
“So, this is an additional dimension. I think the engines brands will have learned to a measure about the lack of preparation that Mercedes rivals did before this replacing [by 2014], however, there will have to be a possibility of That ‘a manufacturer will go well above and this will be a regulation governed through the electricity unit, at least to begin.
Red Bull delayed Mercedes in 2014 due to an engine decrease, in association with Renault, while Lewis Hamilton ruled with six of the seven global names before the first debatable name in Verstappen in 2021.
Newey added: “There’s a chance, if it’s on the combustion engine side of it that somebody comes up with a dominant combustion engine, that that will last through the length of the formula.
“Because the way the regulations are written, it’s quite difficult for people who are behind to catch up.
“If you are on the electric side, then there is much more capacity to catch up if you are behind. “
The 2025 season starts on 16 March with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Update the page or some other page of the site to automatically log in to the reorganization of your browser to save