Juan Pablo Montoya insists Adrian Newey should focus on engineering, not team management. Juan Pablo Montoya comments on Adrian Newey’s role at Aston Martin.

Poor start to the season

The arrival of Adrian Newey as Aston Martin’s new chief designer, combined with significant investments from Lawrence Stroll for the 2026 season, had raised high hopes for the team. With the support of new Honda power units following the end of the Mercedes partnership, Silverstone looked set for a competitive campaign. However, in the first three races, the team’s performance has been disastrous. Fernando Alonso was the only driver to finish a race at the Japanese Grand Prix, ending in 18th place. This result highlighted the lack of competitiveness of the AMR26 and the Honda engines, alongside early-season controversy over cockpit vibrations experienced by the drivers.

An engineer and nothing more

Another important aspect concerns Adrian Newey himself. In addition to his role as chief designer, Adrian Newey also served as a de facto team principal, a position that is expected to be officially handed over to Jonathan Wheatley following his brief stint at Audi. Former driver Juan Pablo Montoya weighed in on Newey’s managerial role during an interview with Casinostugan:

“In Spanish, we have a saying: ‘If you are a cobbler, stick to making shoes.’ Adrian is an engineer and should focus on that. He is excellent at designing cars, not at being a team principal. So, I can understand hiring Jonathan Wheatley. Adrian is an engineer; he doesn’t do politics. He is not there to handle the press. He shouldn’t deal with sponsors. His sole objective should be to make the car faster, which is what he excels at. He just needs to focus on the basics.”

Challenges and optimism for Aston Martin

Despite the evident struggles on multiple fronts at Aston Martin, Montoya remains optimistic about the team’s potential recovery. He believes that improvements can already be seen during the 2026 season:

“The funny thing is that I still believe they will surprise everyone once all the problems are solved. I really think they will have a fairly competitive car once all this mess is sorted out. It will take them some time, but I believe Aston Martin will surprise us, and I think they will surprise us this year.”

Juan Pablo Montoya’s analysis suggests that Aston Martin’s path to the front of the grid depends on a return to specialization. By allowing Adrian Newey to step away from administrative and political burdens to focus purely on the AMR26’s aerodynamics and mechanical grip, the team may finally unlock the potential that Lawrence Stroll’s investment promised.