Aston Martin ambassador Pedro de la Rosa has credited Adrian Newey's leadership for keeping the team united during a difficult Formula 1 season, as optimism returns with a major upgrade package.
Newey's Influence Beyond Design
Newey's first Aston Martin car has struggled, with Honda engines proving unreliable and down on power. At the lowest point, the car was more than four seconds per lap off the pace, leaving drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll powerless on track.
De la Rosa, who raced for Jaguar, McLaren, and Sauber in his F1 career, insists faith in Newey has not wavered. He said: "After such a difficult start, if you don't have someone like Adrian in the team, we wouldn't have been able to keep as strongly united as we have. And that is key. Having a person like him, a leader, makes the difference. It doesn't take a lot in a Formula 1 team to actually lose track and start doubting your own tools, about your own people, about everything."
He added: "Having Adrian has been absolutely key in actually keeping us as strongly united as we are. We should not underestimate this quality. It's not only about being a genius behind the drawing board, it's a lot more. Adrian brings a lot more, brings that leadership that you need in situations like we've experienced."
Upgrades and Strategy
Aston Martin brought its first major upgrade to Hungary before the summer break, halving the massive pace deficit. More is on the way, with a new Honda engine ready for the first race back at Zandvoort, and another chassis package to follow.
While other teams made smaller, gradual improvements, Newey and Aston Martin decided early to focus on a complete redesign. De la Rosa said: "You have to be very brave in any Formula 1 team to take mid-to-long-term decisions. They are correct, but sometimes you don't make it that far, for many reasons. That is a huge quality that Adrian has brought here, which has absolutely nothing to do with his strength behind the design process."
De la Rosa recalls Newey's mid-season turnaround at McLaren in 2004, when the MP4-19 B-spec took a win and four podiums in the second half of the year. He said: "It's a team sport, but all groups of individuals need a leader and need someone who they can trust and they can work with in the same direction. Adrian, he's a key element. He played the same role at McLaren when I was working with him."
He added: "He was the man that was always thinking about the car as a whole. He's an aerodynamicist, but this doesn't mean that he's not into the little details of the mechanical stuff and setup. When you speak with Adrian, 50 percent of his time, he's talking about mechanical setup. He's not only talking about aerodynamics. And this is what I really, really appreciate about Adrian: he understands the car and the team as a whole."
Alonso's Future
Whatever the upgrades deliver, it may be too late to influence Alonso's decision on his future. Now a father, he turned 45 last month and said he would decide this summer whether to continue in F1. An ambassadorial role is waiting at Aston Martin if he retires.
De la Rosa hopes Alonso stays, saying: "As a friend as well, I hope he stays. Fernando works so well with Lance together, as a team-mate. They're extremely open between them. I think this relationship is very special. I think it helps the fact that Fernando is at the end of his career and Lance has a whole career in front, so Fernando is really not in a position of hiding anything or playing tricks. He's just been very open. I think Lance realises that, and they really get on very well, which is critical."
He added: "I hope he stays [but] whatever he decides, he will play an important role. He's just a big asset for us. If he stays as an ambassador, I'm sure that he will do a much better job than myself! I just hope he stays in the sport, in F1. Because if he doesn't stay here, he will definitely race [in another championship]. In F1, he still deserves to achieve a good result. And then we will let him leave."
