Aston Martin could hold the keys to F1's future as Fernando Alonso heaps praise on Adrian Newey

Over the past few years, Aston Martin has cemented itself as a solid midfield team, maintaining the reputation the team had in its previous iterations as Racing Point, Force India and Jordan.

A brief stint towards the front of the pack in 2023 saw Fernando Alonso pick up a handful of podiums for the team, but their form soon faded as the other top teams caught up again.

That was in the early days of the ground effect era, and a lot has changed since then.

McLaren became the dominant team; Williams has resurfaced to the top of the midfield; and Max Verstappen was finally dethroned as world champion by Lando Norris. But for Aston Martin, the winds have started to change too.

The big change over the past season is the arrival of Adrian Newey, who joined the team after leaving Red Bull. The design wizard - who has previously drawn up cars for McLaren, Williams and Leyton House - is now team principal at Aston Martin, but still has an influence on the 2026 car.

Next year, F1 moves to a new set of regulations; gone are the ground effect cars that pump out dirty air, making overtaking so difficult. The drag reduction system (DRS) has also been eradicated, in favour of active aerodynamics on the front and rear wings.

Alonso, who will be racing for Aston Martin again next season, said that Newey’s influence could already be paying dividends for the team.

Speaking to F1TV, he said: “I mean Adrian came to Qatar - he touched the car in Qatar. Maybe still something on it, the last lap here. Honestly, it depends track to track. We saw all championship long.

“Imola we were already strong. Budapest we were two-tenths from pole and finished fifth, and some of the races we were out of Q1. It has been up and down. We lacked consistency this year and a bit of performance. We want to fix these things for next year.”

Newey, 66, has a reputation for nailing new F1 regulations in their first few seasons, putting whichever team he’s with to the front of the grid.

If this - and Aston’s new engine partnership with Honda - creates a rocketship, the team will be a force to be reckoned with, and Alonso will be back to scoring podiums once again. But in turn, this could spark a new F1 dynasty, thanks in large part to how driver contracts are set to play out.

Max Verstappen’s contract comes to an end in 2028, but he may fancy terminating it early to jump ship from Red Bull. At Ferrari, Charles Leclerc seems to be at his wits’ end with the Italian team, and his “multi-year” contract is certainly ambiguous.

Meanwhile, there are rumours that Oscar Piastri is frustrated with how he was treated by McLaren during the 2025 season title fight.

Any of these three drivers could comfortably move to Aston Martin and be an immediate title contender, should their current team fail to deliver on the new regulations.

For the time being, however, Alonso and Lance Stroll will be driving the car next year - and if Newey has worked his magic, will be a force to be reckoned with.