De la Rosa reckons Newey will be a ‘gamechanger’ for Aston

Pedro de la Rosa has provided initial reaction from inside the Aston Martin camp to the news that Adrian Newey will join the team next year, describing it as a “gamechanger” for their prospects.

Aston Martin announced on Tuesday that Newey – seeing out his final few months at Red Bull – is to join the Silverstone outfit on March 1 next year, taking on the role of Managing Technical Partner as well as a shareholding.

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Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Aston Martin ambassador De La Rosa, who previously worked with Newey at McLaren, offered his take on the development and what it will mean for the squad moving forward.

“It’s fantastic news for us,” said De la Rosa. “It is something we were all hoping and waiting [for] and dreaming of, but it’s now a reality.

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“It just highlights how appealing our project was, how exciting it was for Adrian to join and what an exciting future we have. I can’t wait for him to get started and to work again with him.

“I think it just gives so much credit to our team because, at the end of the day, every team on the grid wanted Adrian to join, but he decided for Aston Martin.

“I think it’s a gamechanger and it’s a very important point in our history at Aston Martin. He’s a winner and he really wants to win badly in everything he does. He has a racing driver mentality.

“I think he’s decided for our team because he saw that the ingredients to win were there – the resources, the people, the team. They were all in place, otherwise he wouldn’t have joined.

“I’m so happy that he has picked Aston Martin. Having him is a guarantee that we have the best [people in F1] with us.”

Adrian Newey moves to Aston Martin

Former F1 driver De la Rosa admitted, however, that it is likely to take some time for Newey’s influence to be felt at Aston Martin – pointing to the 2026 regulation changes as a realistic target.

“I just think we have to look long-term in this business,” he added. “You cannot really think about 2025 or the immediate change that Adrian will have.

“We have to be very respectful of the people that we already have. Without them, Adrian wouldn’t have joined. We have to be very mindful that we have the best already and Adrian will just strengthen our group.

“Let’s wait for when he joins in ‘25 and we will grow together. We would love to have him right now, but things don’t happen short-term in Formula 1. If Adrian is coming in ’25, we will have to look at ’26 influence to feel a difference on his arrival.”

‘It’s something we were dreaming of’ – Aston Martin ambassador De la Rosa reckons Newey will be ‘gamechanger’ for team

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