Can Adrian Newey help Fernando Alonso win elusive third F1 title?

Adrian Newey’s arrival at Aston Martin will be music to the ears of Fernando Alonso.

Tuesday’s confirmation that Newey, widely regarded as the greatest car designer in F1 history, will join Aston Martin upon his exit from Red Bull in the spring of 2025, marked a colossal statement of intent from the British squad.

With Aston Martin winning the race between Red Bull’s rivals to secure Newey’s services following the announcement in May that he would be leaving Milton Keynes after 19 years, the 65-year-old will finally get the chance to join forces with fellow F1 great and two-time world champion Alonso.

Newey will be aware of the task which lies ahead of him. After all, he is not walking straight into another winning team and Aston Martin still have some way to go before they can be F1 frontrunners.

After a remarkable surge in 2023 saw Aston Martin emerge from the winter as Red Bull’s nearest rivals, the Silverstone-based outfit have fallen back in F1’s pecking order over the past 12 months.

As Alonso acknowledged before Newey’s move was confirmed, his arrival will not result in an overnight fix - despite his incredible CV which to date includes 25 world championship trophies (12 drivers’ titles and 13 constructors’ championships).

“I think it’s not only one man’s job to fix things,” Alonso said of Newey’s rumoured arrival at the Italian Grand Prix.

“It’s more what we have now and what we are producing. Understanding what is going in the right direction, what is going in the wrong direction, and try to prepare 2025 in a better way.”

However, it will serve as a massive boost for Aston Martin, who have been on a major recruitment drive amid heavy investment.

After signing technical director Dan Fallows from Red Bull in April 2022, Aston Martin hired former Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell and also poached Ferrari’s Enrico Cardile to become their new chief technical officer.

Aston Martin will no longer be a Mercedes customer when F1’s new era of engine regulations begin in 2026. They will start a new partnership with Honda, effectively becoming a works outfit.

Honda have supplied Red Bull since 2019 and after a rough initial return to F1 in 2015 with McLaren - memories of which will still haunt Alonso - the Japanese manufacturer now boasts the leading power unit in F1.

With Aston Martin’s multi-million pound state-of-the-art factory and wind tunnel close to being fully operational, Newey’s arrival will be viewed as the final piece in a puzzle to turn the team into world championship challengers in the coming years.

Alonso, who is already the oldest driver on the F1 grid, signed a new deal earlier this year to commit to Aston Martin until at least the end of 2026 - by which point, he will be 45.

The Spaniard has made it clear he has no desire to quit any time soon, and feels fitter than ever before. The opportunity to drive F1 cars designed by Newey will surely tempt Alonso to stick around for even longer.

"It will take time for Aston Martin to get back to the front, then regularly win, then challenge for a championship," Martin Brundle told Sky Sports.

"Whether he's still fast enough, or still around, when that comes together...

"The answer is yes, providing Fernando is there when and if the magic happens."

After several unsuccessful career moves and championship near-misses, could Newey’s genius be the spark Alonso has been waiting for to end his decade-long wait for victory, and finally enable him to win the third world title which has so far eluded him?