Aston Martin’s brand-new headquarters might look world-class from the outside, but behind the scenes, one of its flagship systems is falling short, and Adrian Newey has wasted no time calling it out.
Since arriving in March, Newey has been assessing the team’s tools ahead of F1’s sweeping 2026 regulation reset. While he’s praised the team’s facility and potential, he’s also identified a serious flaw: the simulator is giving misleading results. What happens virtually doesn’t line up with what’s seen on track, and it’s slowing down everything from race preparation to next-gen car development.
The simulator, part of Aston Martin’s £200m investment at Silverstone and brought online in 2024, was meant to anchor their transition to the front of the grid. Instead, it’s become a bottleneck. According to Newey, the discrepancy between virtual performance and real-world behaviour is making both short-term setup work and long-term concept research far more difficult than it should be.
Reinforcements Arrive – Starting with Simulation
To fix it, Aston has brought in a familiar face. Giles Wood, who collaborated closely with Newey during Red Bull’s dominant Vettel era, has returned to Formula 1 after several years working in the autonomous tech sector with Apple. His new role: Simulation and Vehicle Modelling Director, tasked with getting the team’s software, physics modelling, and data pipelines into shape.
It’s a crucial job. While Aston’s motion rig is state-of-the-art, Newey has emphasised that the value lies not in the hardware itself but in how accurately the car’s virtual models reflect tyre, aero, and mechanical behaviour. Without that alignment, even the most advanced simulator is ineffective.
More Than Just a Software Fix
Wood’s return is part of a broader rebuild. The team has also appointed Gioacchino “Jack” Vino as Chief Aerodynamicist. Vino’s CV includes spells at Toyota, Red Bull, and Mercedes, where he spent over a decade climbing to the top of the aero department before departing in 2024. He officially joined Aston in April.
Team boss Andy Cowell says the addition of Wood and Vino has already shifted the energy inside the organisation. Working alongside Newey, their presence is sharpening internal direction and expectations.
“Watching the way those two engage with Adrian and the wider group, it lifts everyone,” Cowell said. “It’s not just the pace of work; it’s how clear the objectives have become.”
Tools Alone Aren’t Enough
Newey has spoken candidly about the challenges facing Aston Martin’s simulator and overall structure. He’s not just targeting the technology, he’s also focused on improving how the team works together. Despite possessing some of the best individual talent on the grid, he believes the structure needs streamlining to turn that into consistent results.
This is, after all, a team that evolved from Jordan to Force India to Racing Point, punching above its weight for years. Now, with major backing and rapid expansion, it’s learning how to perform as a big team under new expectations.
While the new wind tunnel is still bedding in and the simulator remains a work in progress, Newey believes the bigger differentiator will be how well the team maximises its human capital.
The Road to 2026
This isn’t a quick fix. Newey has been clear: resolving the simulation correlation issues could take a couple of years. But with Giles Wood now steering that recovery and Vino reshaping the aero department, Aston Martin is doing what many teams talk about but few deliver, addressing core weaknesses from the inside out.
The buildings may be new, but the work now is about syncing the people and the processes. If they can align those in time for 2026, the project might finally hit the gear it’s been searching for.