Aston Martin respond after Horner criticises ‘premature’ Newey announcement

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has insisted its celebration of Adrian Newey’s signature was a “fantastic” moment for the team.

The Silverstone-based team unveiled Newey as managing technical partner from March 2025 last week, several months after his confirmation that he would leave Red Bull next year.

A celebration of Newey’s arrival was conducted throughout the day at Aston Martin, drawing criticism from Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

Newey is still under contract at Red Bull until early next year, but Krack asserted its unveiling of Newey was beneficial as it sparked extra motivation for the Silverstone-based team.

“It was a great announcement, it was a great week for us,” Krack told media including RacingNews365. 

“It was fantastic in the factory, in the campus. It was great here.

“You could like some extra motivation, and there is also much more attention from you guys [media] because of that.

“So I think it’s good for the team, it’s good for the brand. We achieved a good result.”

Krack denies distraction element to Newey arrival

Newey’s arrival will see the Briton lead the technical department into a new era with fresh technical regulations coming into play in 2026.

Aston Martin is enduring a difficult campaign this year and has fallen away from the fight for the top four positions in the constructors’ standings.

As it looks to see out the final seven races of the season on a high, Krack denied the Newey announcement has distracted the team.

“I do not think that there was any kind of distraction, to be honest,” he said. 

“On Tuesday, it was, yeah, to be honest. When everything was done, we said, ‘Okay, back to work, where are we?’ 

“So that was one, but it was a good one. But after that, everybody was focused, trying to do the best possible job. 

“I think for the drivers, it gave an extra motivation, and for the team alike. But I don’t think it was distracting.”