Adrian Newey says Aston Martin’s first big performance upgrade of the season will be introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break.

Aston Martin and new engine partner Honda have been stuck at the back of the field this season.

But as team principal, Newey decided the most cost-effective approach was to delay any performance improvements to the car until they could introduce one meaningful step.

Newey said the changes would be focused on a significant weight reduction and major changes to aerodynamics.

He said in an interview on the team’s website:, external “The front suspension is unchanged. The rear suspension is slightly revised. We’ve developed a new nose and substantially revised aerodynamic surfaces.

“So, while the core structure is similar, it’s a big aerodynamic package coupled with significant weight reduction. The target is to get very close to the weight limit.”

The race in Hungary is on 24-26 July with this weekend’s British Grand Prix and the Belgian Grand Prix taking place before then.

Newey said the team’s difficult start to the season – with a car lacking performance and overweight – had been caused by a combination of designing the car late because of his arrival at the start of March last year, and the discovery that organisational processes at the team were not fit for purpose.

“We’ve taken this difficult spell as an opportunity to overhaul how we work,” Newey said.

“On the chassis side, we’re quite a long way overweight. Some of that comes from integrating the power unit and dealing with vibration issues we’ve had to work through with Honda, but we also didn’t do as good a job as we should have on our side at saving weight.

“When you design in a rush, weight is the first thing that suffers because you don’t have the time to thoroughly optimise everything.”

He admitted that he had been caught out by some aspects of his initial aerodynamic design.

“Aerodynamically, we also took a bold direction – which was largely pushed by me – without the luxury of exploring multiple concepts in depth because time was against us,” Newey said. “I wouldn’t say the direction we’ve taken is fundamentally wrong, but it has thrown up challenges we didn’t anticipate.”

Newey, regarded as the greatest aerodynamic engineer in Formula 1 history, has also had to cope with a spell of illness, he revealed.

“I’m OK now, but it’s been a difficult period,” the 67-year-old said. “In truth, I was not 100% last year. I had to balance health and work much more carefully.

“The team handled it incredibly well. I kept a very good relationship with the engineers and I don’t feel it caused too much of a blip. That’s a testament to how adaptable and supportive everyone here is.”

Newey said the success of the chassis upgrade could be critical in lead driver Fernando Alonso’s decision on his future.

The two-time champion is 45 in July and out of contract at the end of the season. He has said he is committed to a future with Aston Martin but has not decided whether to leave F1 and race elsewhere.

Newey said the update was “very important” to Alonso.

“Fernando is really looking forward to the upgrade and if it performs we hope he’ll be in the cockpit for another season,” Newey said.

“Given his experience, his feel for the car, his ability to guide development, he’s a tremendous asset. But he wants to see clear, tangible progress. If we can show that we’re moving decisively in the right direction, he’s absolutely committed to being behind the wheel.”

But Newey refused to give an estimate for the performance step he expected from the upgrade.

So far this season, Aston Martin are an average of 3.4 seconds off the pace, and even a two-second improvement would only move them up to the midfield, and would still leave them behind Alpine and Racing Bulls, the fastest two cars outside the big four teams.

“We’re predicting a large step,” Newey said, “but I’m reluctant to put specific numbers out there because our simulation tools aren’t yet as sophisticated or well correlated as they need to be.

“Historically, at this team, there hasn’t been enough investment in engineering simulation tools – not just project management systems, but the core physics tools themselves.

“We’re putting that investment in now, but you don’t rewrite and validate those tools overnight. Correlating them properly with the real car takes time.

“At the moment, they’re improving, but the real gains from that work will come later in the year.”

This is an indirect reference to the fact that over the past few seasons Aston Martin have introduced developments expecting improvements but these have not materialised on track.

This will be the first time a major upgrade has been tested with Aston Martin’s new tools and procedures and with Newey at the helm.

A development to the Honda engine, which is the least powerful on the grid and is said by insiders to be lacking 50kW (67bhp) compared with the best, is also expected this summer.

But the company has not said at which race it will be introduced.

Newey also took the opportunity to clarify the meaning of his title as team principal.

He adopted that role in November last year when Andy Cowell was moved from his position as team boss and chief executive officer.

Newey said: “‘Team principal’ is, in part, a formal requirement – under FIA regulations, you have to nominate someone in that role. It’s a job title, not a job description.

“The way we interpret it is that, when it comes to key strategic decisions, the buck stops with me. That’s the heart of the job. Of course, Lawrence (Stroll, the owner) is also deeply involved in those big calls too.”

Since the reshuffle, Cowell has been moved to a role as chief strategy officer, primarily charged with working with engine partner Honda, which has also struggled for performance this season. Cowell is expected to leave Aston Martin later this season.