Juan Pablo Montoya is convinced that Adrian Newey will lead Aston Martin back to the top—in his view, the only question is when that success will come
Juan Pablo Montoya is convinced that Adrian Newey will lead Aston Martin to success in the long term. The former Formula 1 driver does not view the team’s current difficult situation as a fundamental problem, but rather as a matter of timing.
Newey joined Aston Martin for the 2025 season as executive technical partner and shareholder. Starting in 2026, he will also take on the role of team principal. His most important task is to guide the team through the new Formula 1 regulations and, together with the new engine partner Honda, set the course for the future.
On the track, however, the season has been disappointing so far. Ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Aston Martin sits in tenth—and thus second-to-last—place in the Constructors’ Championship. With a extensively revised B-Spec car, the Silverstone-based team is now hoping for an upward trend.
Montoya: “It’s not a question of if”
During the F1 TV show “Weekend Warm-Up,” Montoya spoke about the team’s long-term prospects. Earlier, Fernando Alonso had emphasized that he continues to have great confidence in Newey and Honda.
Montoya believes that Alonso also wanted to send a message to the team with his comments: “Publicly, he’s trying to push the team a little, just like Max does. It’s along the lines of, ‘I want to stay, but you guys need to improve.’ Realistically speaking, though, he’s in the best position. If anyone can do it, it’s Adrian and Aston Martin.”
The Colombian is convinced that success will come, even if the exact timing remains unclear: “The question is when. It’s not a question of if it will happen, but when it will happen and whether the timeline works for him. Do you want to be where they are right now? No. But they’re going to make huge strides. I think this step will be a big one.”
The second half of the season will be more telling
However, Montoya doesn’t yet consider the Hungarian Grand Prix a reliable indicator. “I don’t think Hungary will give a true picture of where they’ll be in a month or two. Once they have the new power unit and everything is finalized, we’ll get a better picture of where they really stand at Monza, Baku, Madrid, and the other races.”
His hope is to see Aston Martin move significantly closer to the midfield by then: “It would be great if, by the time of the Madrid race, they were where Williams is right now—or at least close to Alpine. That would be really nice to see.”
At the same time, Montoya makes it clear that progress on the track could also have an impact on the driver lineup. If Aston Martin becomes competitive, he could imagine both drivers staying with the team for several more years. If, on the other hand, the results don’t materialize, he considers changes to the driver lineup entirely possible.
With the revised car in Hungary, an important phase of the season is now beginning for Aston Martin. However, according to Montoya’s assessment, it remains to be seen in the coming races whether the expected turnaround will actually materialize.