Aston Martin have invested heavily into acquiring the best personnel and building the best infrastructure – largely with the aim of becoming a top team in 2026. With the new regulations approaching, the Silverstone outfit are optimistic about their progress.
Andy Cowell provides update on 2026 Aston Martin
After a relatively disappointing start to the year, Aston Martin are now gathering some momentum.
Points finishes in the last three races have managed to quieten some of the more negative narratives about their 2025 campaign.
Still, there is no denying that Aston Martin’s best case scenario this year – finishing 5th in the standings – is far below the team’s ultimate objectives.
With this in mind, Adrian Newey and his technical team have been working diligently on next year’s cars.
The Silverstone-based operation will hope to optimise their partnership with Honda – which effectively gives them the flexibility of a manufacturer team – to assert themselves in 2026.
After years of assembling an exceptionally talented team, Aston Martin are inching closer to their first major test.
Since arriving at the team, Newey’s primary task has not just been developing next year’s car – but also ensuring that everyone at the factory is working in the most efficient and integrated way possible.
In this sense, team principal Andy Cowell’s years at Mercedes should facilitate Aston’s progression – after all, he knows exactly how a winning team functions.
The 56-year-old is positive about the work being done for 2026:
“Yes. Progress has been made, and the concept architecture of the 2026 car is encouraging.
“We’re seeing greater refinement, growth in the organisation and development in our methods of operation. It’s going well
“The fact we now have a wind tunnel available to us seven days a week, 24 hours of each of those days if we so choose, is an advantage.
“Having our own facility speeds up development and provides more responsive answers to engineers’ queries.
“The new wind tunnel is game-changing.
“It’s driving greater efficiency and ultimately, in the bigger scheme of things, that helps us find answers to the how and the why.”
Final updates for AMR25
For all of the understandable emphasis on the 2026 regulations, Aston Martin’s work for this year is not quite finished.
There are still some updates in the pipeline, which will make their debut over the coming weeks.
In theory, these modifications will be primarily centred on unlocking more performance for the AMR25.
However, Aston are still working to optimise their new wind tunnel, simulator and general development facilities.
Because of this, the correlation of their next upgrades will be significant as they prepare for next year.
Aston Martin’s journey in recent years, especially in 2025, has been about putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.
The next six months, therefore, will consist of an intense process of adaptation and integration at the factory.
Andy Cowell, Adrian Newey, Andy Stevenson and the team’s other senior figures are striving to ensure they are ready to hit the ground running next season.
Other lesser-known engineers, though nonetheless integral, have joined the team in Silverstone over recent months.
A combination of heavy investment and Adrian Newey’s presence have allowed Aston Martin to grow and strengthen their workforce.
Provided Honda can produce a high-quality engine (which is generally expected), Alonso and Stroll could soon have a formidable machine.
Main photo: Zak Mauger/LAT Images (via Aston Martin media gallery)
