Fernando Alonso Makes Bold Comparison Between Adrian Newey And Lewis Hamilton's 2025 Moves

Saajan Jogia | Feb 20, 2025

Adrian Newey - Aston Martin / Aston Martin Press Release

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso has compared Adrian Newey's Aston Martin joining to Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari onboarding, which happened last month. The two-time world champion suggested that Newey has more to contribute to a Formula 1 team than a driver, such as Hamilton, whose main challenge will be to adapt to the new car.

F1's renowned aerodynamicist, Newey, led many drivers and teams to victories in his storied F1 career. The 66-year-old aero guru was responsible for designing Red Bull's current ground effect cars that have dominated the grid since 2022. His most successful creation of the era was 2023's RB19 F1 car, which helped Red Bull win 21 out of the 22 Grands Prix.

However, Red Bull's form coincidentally declined as Newey announced his resignation last year. The team began to face balance problems on the RB20, eventually leading to losing the top two positions in the Constructors' Championship. Newey is slated to join Aston Martin in March as the team's managing technical partner and shareholder.

That wasn't the only legendary move in the premier class of motorsport. Hamilton also announced his shock Ferrari signing last year, which materialized last month. The seven-time world champion parted ways with Mercedes after twelve years, ending a partnership that saw eight Constructors' Championships and six drivers' titles. Being a multi-world champion, he is expected to contribute greatly to Ferrari, which missed winning the championship last year to McLaren by just 14 points.

While Newey's role at Aston Martin is entirely different from Hamilton's at Ferrari, Alonso was asked by Spanish publication AS as to who will have a greater impact on their respective teams. The 43-year-old driver answered:

“Adrian Newey will always have more impact than any driver. Drivers come and go, the 20 of us here try to drive well and we have achieved things until we reach F1. I don't know what Hamilton will contribute or add to Ferrari, it will surely be less than what a designer can contribute.”

Speaking further on Hamilton's Ferrari arrival, the 43-year-old driver added:

“It's hard to say. When I arrived at Aston it was a different organisation. At Alpine I felt comfortable with a lot of people from the Renault era and at Aston I was new to everything, but in the first race we were going very fast. It's more about getting used to the car than anything else. Hamilton has to see how the car is driven, Leclerc has more experience. Lewis also suffered a bit with Russell last year so he also has to gain confidence, but we know the quality he has and if he has a good car he will be a sure candidate.”