Newey sees a familiar Red Bull challenge at Aston Martin

Adrian Newey, Aston Martin's team principal, says the challenge of bringing the team together echoes the one he faced when he joined Red Bull in early 2006. He made the comparison while speaking to media at the United States Grand Prix, pointing to turmoil in both teams' histories and changes in ownership and senior management.

Red Bull bought the struggling Jaguar operation from Ford in late 2004, with Christian Horner installed as team principal before Newey arrived. Aston Martin has undergone extensive restructuring since Lawrence Stroll's takeover in 2018. That included the departure of long-time team boss Otmar Szafnauer, a brief spell under Martin Whitmarsh and the subsequent appointment of Andy Cowell.

Technical leadership has shifted too: technical director Dan Fallows departed as Enrico Cardile and Newey were brought in. Newey said the common work was getting people to work together, breaking down silos and improving the culture. In the same interview, he said Aston Martin was coming together as a team and described the spirit in its engineering offices as very strong.

The broader season remained difficult: after 20 grands prix, Aston Martin was 10th in the constructors' championship with seven points. Honda's power unit continued to suffer from turbo lag and driveability issues late in the campaign.