Alonso: Newey will be given complete freedom of action

      At a press conference in London, prior to yesterday's general presentation of all Formula 1 teams, Fernando Alonso was asked about Adrian Newey, who will start working at Aston Martin in less than two weeks.

      It turned out that even Alonso couldn't say for sure which tasks the most successful racing constructor in the history of the World Championship would focus on first.

      "I believe he will be given complete freedom of action – I don't think he can be dictated what he should do," Spanish newspaper Marca quoted the two–time world champion as saying. – If he joins the team and can help us with the 2025 car– that's great. If he wants to start preparing for 2026, that's also good, because it will mean that Newey already has some specific ideas, and he just won't want to waste time on other tasks.

      I've asked questions of both Adrian and Lawrence Stroll more than once, but he always told me that we couldn't control Newey or tell him what to do. He'll do whatever he wants to do.

      The team is currently in the process of clarifying many issues, including those related to the 2025 car. In addition, we now have a more modern simulator, so everyone is working hard to ensure that the chassis upgrade work is more efficient than in previous seasons, and the results are more accurate.

      We have new tools at our disposal, we are reorganizing the team, which has new people, and now it is important to fully understand the shortcomings of the chassis that appeared last year.

      In general, I think that at the beginning of this season we will be in a more favorable position, although, of course, there is still a lot of work ahead. A lot of time was lost last year, but we believe we can make up for it quickly now."