Aston Martin is in a period of stagnation. Despite showing occasional moments of promise in qualifying, Lawrence Stroll’s team is nowhere near the front on Sundays. The current state of affairs are not acceptable to the Canadian team boss. Following the AMR24’s disappointing Imola upgrades, Stroll has explored ways to strengthen his technical team. Adrian Newey is among his key targets.
The rise and fall of Aston Martin is familiar to F1 fans. It has been a painful period for the Silverstone-based outfit, whose aspirations to fight for victories are very far away.
The first reports about Lawrence Stroll’s frustration with Aston’s trajectory emerged a few weeks ago. The 64-year-old met with team principal Mike Krack and Technical Director Dan Fallows after the disappointing results in Imola.
Both these men are under huge pressure to turn around the situation. As they try to rectify the AMR24’s uninspiring trajectory, Aston Martin are looking at options elsewhere.
The two highest-profile figures on the team’s radar are Adrian Newey and Enrico Cardile.
MIAMI, FLORIDA – MAY 03: Adrian Newey, the Chief Technical Officer of Oracle Red Bull Racing looks on from the pitwall during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 03, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202405030590 // Usage for editorial use only //
Adrian Newey, Enrico Cardile are Aston Martin targets
Formu1a.uno has previously reported on Aston Martin’s efforts to sign Enrico Cardile. The Ferrari Technical Director can be credited with leading the Maranello team’s resurgence over the last twelve months.
Fred Vasseur deserves huge praise for not hitting the panic button after Ferrari’s poor start to 2023. He allowed Cardile and his technical team to continue their work amidst last year’s struggles. This gave the Scuderia the necessary stability to unlock huge performance over winter.
At this stage last year, with Aston Martin fighting at the front, Cardile certainly wasn’t in such high demand.
However, things change quickly in Formula 1. Aston Martin have made an offer to the Italian engineer, although no movement on this front is anticipated at the moment.
Alongside these talks, Lawrence Stroll is working to bring Adrian Newey to the team.
According to Dutch journalist Erik Van Haren, the former Red Bull engineer has recently visited the factory in Silverstone.
Aston Martin have not given up on Adrian Newey
With the 2026 regulations on the horizon, signing Adrian Newey would obviously be a huge boost. Aston first probed Newey’s interest in a potential switch earlier this season at the Saudi Arabia GP.
Of course, Honda’s progress in the power unit department will be just as important as Aston’s aerodynamic philosophy. Still, Newey is evidently a tremendous asset that would validate the ambition of the Silverstone project.
At this stage, it is unclear where the 65-year-old will go after his gardening leave ends in early 2025. There is always the possibility that he decides against returning to F1.
With that said, his return to the paddock should not to be written off. Aston Martin have been trying to convince Newey for several months now, and this would not be possible without at least some interest from the British engineer.
With their resources and agreement with Honda, they are an attractive enough destination.
Ferrari is another obvious possibility for the British engineer. In the case of Ferrari, it must be added that Newey would likely serve as a kind of super consultant. The current Technical department in Maranello is performing well, so uprooting it ahead of 2026 would be unwise.
Because of this, whilst Ferrari’s interest in Newey is well-documented, Fred Vasseur is keeping a calm approach. It is almost certainly Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin that are most driven to make this move happen.
