[Saba Sports News] Yasuharu Watanabe, the president of Honda Racing, recently revealed that he has engaged in frequent and intense technical exchanges with Adrian Newey, the design master who is set to become the team principal for Aston Martin F1 as they embark on a new collaboration. Although their discussions often see clashes of ideas and are uncompromising, the goal remains singular: to win races.
Currently, Newey is leading the development of the Aston Martin AMR26 car, which will be used in the 2026 season and marks the beginning of the team’s new power unit partnership with Honda. Previously, Aston Martin confirmed that Newey will take over as team principal starting next season, while the current principal, Andy Cowell, will transition to chief strategy officer to coordinate overall operations between the team, Honda, and fuel partner Aramco.
In an interview with the team’s official website, Watanabe reminisced about their first encounter after reuniting. He noted that upon Newey’s formal joining, both men couldn’t help but laugh during their initial meeting, as if they had returned to the days when they fought side by side. Records show that they previously worked together at Red Bull Racing for many years, collaborating on several championship-winning cars from 2019 to 2024.
However, such collaboration is not always smooth. Watanabe admitted that he and Newey often engage in high-intensity discussions involving component layout, R&D directions, and even extending to competitor analysis, personnel management, and maximizing investment efficiency under cost cap restrictions.