Newey’s new challenge + a crowning moment in the championship? – 2025 Qatar GP Preview

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1:12F1's most successful designer is becoming a team principal. A little bit of a surprise for me. Him becoming team principal just formalizes what I think a lot of the people in the team thought anyway, which was he is our leader. One thing is to design a car, one thing is to lead a Formula 1 team. Should McLaren focus on Lando, give him the priority? I will put everything on Lando. Going to Abu Dhabi with Max Verstappen still on the fight for the title is so dangerous. Welcome everyone to the Le Salle International Circuit for F1 Nation's preview of this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix, a sprint weekend where we have big news to react to and potentially a world champion to crown.

1:57I'm Tom Clarkson and joining me in the paddock outside McLaren is Spanish broadcaster and journalist Albert Fabrega. Albert, great to see you again. Now, let's start with the news that F1's most successful designer is becoming a team principal. Adrian Newey will take charge of Aston Martin next season. He's going to lead the team at the racetrack, as well as the design and technical team back at the team's factory in the UK. Current TP, Andy Cowell, will take on a new role as chief strategy officer. Now, Adrian is without doubt a design genius, but this will be the first time he runs a team. And here's what the Aston Martin drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, think of the decision.

2:40Great news for the team to have Adrian with all his expertise and knowledge about everything that a team should need to compete at the highest level is great news. The role of team principal makes it a little bit different in our days and you have to deal with other things, other stuff or media or commitments or sponsors or something like that. I hope Adrian doesn't need to do all of those and concentrate it more in the important stuff. but you know he knows how to operate a team and how everyone should focus in one direction so he's a great leader and i'm happy with this announcement exciting yeah i think it's great for the team i mean he's been managing you know a lot of things back at the factory for the last few months since he joined so to have him in that position i think it's just positive for the whole team i know he's much more than just aerodynamicist car designer at the moment i mean he's of course Of course, his main priority is the car and he's completely on top of it.

3:42It's his project, his baby, but he's also heavily involved in managing the people and the culture and the team and extracting the most out of everyone in every position in the whole company. So he's working in many different avenues. Now, what about you, Albert? Let's get your reaction. Yeah, a little bit of a surprise for me from my point of view. you know this kind of genius like Adrian Newey if I would be the the owner of the team I would have him just thinking and having his mind just focused on how to make the car quicker but obviously as a Formula One team is today he wants his decisions to to be always on his let's say right direction so yeah a little bit of surprise but I guess that he will put a lot of people around him to make the hard work that is related to the team principal.

4:38Albert, it is a bit of a trend that we've seen in Formula One in recent years, isn't it? I mean, Toto Wolff is the only team principal now who doesn't have a technical background, not an engineer. And I mean, Adrian is the first designer, I suppose you could say, who is now team principal. How well suited to the job do you think Adrian will be? I don't know. One thing is to design a car. One thing is to lead the development of a car or the development line of a car. Another thing is to manage people, to manage a Formula One team that is bigger than only a department and the technical line. So as I said, I'm pretty much sure that he will have people next to him doing the day-to-day operations because obviously he cannot be focused on the details.

5:25And yeah, we will see. It's obviously a measure that will affect the day-by-day team as it was till now. And time will tell. The results of these decisions are not going to be on the table next race. So it's something that we'll have to wait some time. I always find it fascinating watching the team principals at work at a racetrack, right? They bounce from such different conversations. I remember seeing one of the TPs, won't mention his name, but he was at one minute was talking about a driver contract. Five minutes later, he was talking to the title sponsor of the team. After that, he was talking to someone in the media.

6:06It's such a broad role. Yes. Is there a danger that if you start getting Adrian involved in those kinds of conversations, the media, the sponsors? The emails, the information, the flows information you have to manage. Will it take away from his core role, which is to lead the team technically? Yes, if he's planning to do it by itself. If he's planning to do the same thing as Toto is doing or if he's planning to do the same thing that James Wolves was doing or Christian Horner before in Red Bull or any other team principal. I think that he needs to have around him people doing these kind of jobs.

6:49It's also a political job, team principal. He needs to be the face of the team. Obviously, there is Mr. Stroll that is the owner, but he's a team principal, so he will have to be the face of the team in certain phases of this project. And yeah, I hope that he's focusing on the thing that he's a genius, and he's been one of the most successful engineers in the F1 history, that is to design cars. 26 world championships he's won. I guess this is a compliment to the team's chief technical officer, Enrico Cardile, who joined from Ferrari in July this year. Maybe Adrian's thinking that with him supporting him back at Silverstone at the factory, it does free him up to do a broader role.

7:37And yeah, in the factory. And then he needs someone as well next to him in the tracks. What do you mean a sort of chief executive role? Mike Crack, he was doing very well. his job before the arrival of Andy Cowell. So maybe, yeah, we will see. You know, when the rumors started to arise, I thought that maybe one of the best candidates for... I was thinking in Andreas Sedo. He used to be at McLaren before Andreas Taylor. He did a very good job in McLaren. So I was thinking on him to be that operational guy that was moving the team. I don't see Adrian Newey taking the matters of the day by day of the team and the factories, you know.

8:22But yeah, if he wants to be at that position, because obviously he chooses to be the team principal, I'm sure he has been on the table writing down all the pros and cons. It was fascinating, Albert. I was at Silverstone doing a Beyond the Grid podcast with Enrico Cardile a couple of months ago, and we recorded it in a meeting room right next door to the design office and glass walls so i could see adrian at work i could see him designing with his drawing board um he has an office glass walled office in the middle of the design office so i could see him designing away and then i would guess once every 20 minutes half an hour he'd come out of his office and walk past the other designers there's 250 people in this room and he'd occasionally stop look over someone's shoulder give a bit of advice then move on maybe a few people later stop again so it became clear to me then one the intensity of adrian's work this move to aston martin wasn't some pension booster for him no this is a very competitive man who wants to win and also it became clear to me watching him that he is a figurehead in that team so in a way him becoming team principal just formalizes what i think a lot of the people in the team thought anyway, which was he is our leader.

9:47I was just watching him leading his design team. Why not spread that net wider to the whole team and become team principal? Yeah, that's the point. You know, he is a leader. He is a leader. He's been a leader in Red Bull. He's been a leader when he was at McLaren or whatever the project he was there. He was moving everything. He was moving the team, was moving around him. And pretty much sure that Aston Martin will move around him in a way that the performance of the car is going to be the only target. But that's one thing that I'm pretty much sure that he is conscious about that. The other thing is that the image, the political side of the Formula One, where maybe Adrian is not the perfect candidate, let's say, the one that has to be in the meetings, the one that has to be in front of the press.

10:32I don't know if he will be... Hang on, Albert. I'm actually going to disagree with you there. Do you remember 2009 and the double diffuser? Yes. You had Toyota, Williams and Braun turned up in Melbourne with the double diffuser Adrian thought that that was outside of the regulations. And to see him go into bat and try and get that regulation overturned, I thought politically, OK, he didn't succeed, but he was very political. And he knew how to play the game. But I mean, if you want to do this kind of things, you have to forget about many other things that you have behind. And the role of the principle, if you don't have around yourself the right people protecting yourself, It's like when a defender is moving to the attack to score a goal.

11:16If you're not moving the team behind him to protect your goalkeeper, you're leaving an aisle easy for the other team. So I'm pretty much sure that they know that and they will cover all the positions in case that Adrian Newey is jumping to situations like this to focus on the car, as well when he is throwing, you know, like a genius, that he is the concept of the new cars. What are you expecting from Aston in 2026? Does this changing of the guard, if that's the right expression, increase the pressure on the team to succeed? I think the pressure is always there for Aston Martin. You know, this project is here in Formula One to win.

11:56It's not here to be sixth or seventh or fifth or third or second. They are here to win. So the pressure is always there. The urgency of becoming a top team is there already. but you know these kind of things I think that check the structure of the team and for me the stability is important on these kind of projects so I'm not sure how these decisions or the exit of some people from the aerodepartment recently a couple of weeks ago will have an impact to the whole structure and to the car for next year. I don't believe that one person can change one team from one day to the other. So it's a process.

12:41Formula 1 and the teams are subject to cycles. So it's not just you are not becoming six or seven in the Formula 1 championship and then the year after you are the first. Maybe only the brown case, we can say. In its time. I think in its time. But they are doing the right things. So I don't know if it's going to be 26 or 27 or 28. But they are putting in place everything you need to succeed in Formula 1, yes. Cadillac has entered Formula 1, deepening the racing pedigree behind every V-series on the road. Discover a line-up that delivers pure adrenaline in the form of modern luxury. Experience the quickest Cadillac ever, the all-electric Lyric V, the peak performance of the CT5V Blackwing, the nimble agility of the Optic V and the legendary roar of the Escalade V, all engineered to thrill.

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13:56Let's now focus on this race weekend, the penultimate round of the season where the 2025 world champion could be crowned. Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen are both 24 points adrift of championship leader Lando Norris. And here's the maths. Lando will be champion if he extends his lead to 26 points or more by the end of the weekend. He cannot win the title in Saturday's sprint race alone. Max has won this race for the last two years and is driving beautifully. Oscar is also a former sprint winner here, looking to reboot his title challenge. And Lando has the lead, but also the most precious. So, Albert, who is going to come out on top?

14:38What's your feeling as we come into the weekend? That it was a huge mistake from McLaren last weekend in Las Vegas. That's true. And that's increasing the pressure internally in the team and on the drivers, mainly over Lando Norris, who had the title already in his pocket after Las Vegas' checkered flag. No Catasta Las Vegas still was decision to exclude both cars. And in the post-race press conference, he was there in P2. He had his 30-point lead in the championship at that point. At that point. Things turn over very, very easy in Formula 1. And, yeah, I think that this increases even more the pressure to them.

15:15But I think that Lando is in a momentum of his career where he knows he can achieve the championship. and I feel he himself has trusted a little bit more in his capabilities, in his possibilities of becoming world champion maybe since three or four races ago. And I've seen a more stronger Lando Norris than some other stages of the season. But obviously what happened in Las Vegas has had an impact within the team. I don't know if this will change for this race. I don't know if the papaya rules have changed. They say no. That was going to be my question. With Max now lurking just those 24 points back, should McLaren focus on Lando, give him the priority?

15:59If I would be Andreas Delo or Zac Brown, I would say yes. I would put everything on Lando. And if at some point of the race I have to use Oscar Piastri to help Lando, I would do it. I would do it. Because going to Abu Dhabi with Max Verstappen still on the fight for the title, It's so dangerous. And if I can seal the title here, I would do everything I have on my hands to do it. Yes. But as you say, McLaren have said today that they're not changing their approach. No, that's it. That's it. But they've been saying this since the first race. So I don't know. For me, in the current Formula One, it looks like the successful projects are the ones that are focusing on one driver, are using the second driver as another team member, let's say.

16:48Not in that words, but sometimes using the second driver to be sure that the title driver have the best performance and have the best tools to achieve the best result and to win the title. You say you've seen a better Lando Norris in the last three or four races. In what areas do you think he's better? Confidence. Confidence, for sure. Confidence. He's done very little mistakes. Maybe last weekend in Las Vegas, on the start of Las Vegas, it was the only mistake I've seen him in the last three Grand Prix. And yeah, I think that on the game moment, he has done a step forward. He has raised the level of the game.

17:30And he's performing much better, much better. Probably he's more comfortable with the car. I'm pretty much sure of this. but yeah I've seen Lando Norris that is sitting on the car thinking that he can be world champion Alright so let's go back to the guys in joint P2 now Max Verstappen 24 points back as we've already said do you think he'll change his approach in any way coming into this weekend? I think Max is heading every race in the same manner he doesn't think if he's chasing the championship or he's not, of course he's on the mind, but he will go forever. He will go for the win. He will go as he has been driving always in the car, trying to change the win, even if he's fighting for nothing.

18:21So I don't think he's changing the approach. Obviously mentally he's stronger than the others. He's been already four times world champion, So he is stronger than Norris and than Piastri. And he can be more relaxed than them. But I don't think his approach will change at all. Just cast your mind back to Zanvoort. He was 104 points behind Piastri. And here we are, two races to go. They're level. It's not been only Max Verstappen. I give a lot of credit to Red Bull. The car was not performing well. They knew, and I think that they did a big effort to try to turn around the situation. You remember where it was Red Bull at the beginning of the season with all the problems they had with Christian leaving the team, Loren arriving, the car was not performing, they were completely off the championship already.

19:18And I think that they did a big effort to try to solve the technical problems they had on the car, that they were there, but also to make the team to trust in itself again. And that's very important. It's not only Max Verstappen factor, it's Red Bull. They didn't throw the towel when the situation was to say, OK, we lost the season, we start a new project, let's focus on 2026, forget about 25. No, they believe in themselves. And I think it's been, for me, even more important than Max Verstappen recovery, what Red Bull has done with the current, with the team, that it was coming from a very, very difficult moment.

19:55What about Piastri? Struggled for a few races. he's admitted that as well. Did you start to see a bit of a recovery in the last couple of races? Very little, very little. I haven't seen the Oscar Piastri that we saw in different moments of the season where he was performing really well. That smashing guy that was doing the simple things with calm, with no panic, not doing any exceptional races but being very fast, consistent, solid, with no mistakes. and been quicker than his teammate. And yeah, during the last seven or eight races, maybe since Monza and then Baku, I think Baku was a big turning point for him when he did two mistakes in a row qualifying.

20:44And then during the race, I think that he started to do not perform as well as he did on the first part of the season. Can we talk tyres? There's one change for this weekend that I feel might take away from one of McLaren's big advantages is the way that it looks after its rear tyres in particular. And we've got these mandated stint lengths now. The tyres can do no more than a maximum of 25 laps this weekend, largely down to the wear that we see here because of the fast-flowing nature of this racetrack. Do you think that change will favour Red Bull more than McLaren? Yes, because one of the biggest McLaren advantages related to tire degradation.

21:30So this is a track very difficult for the tires. It's very demanding for the tires. So everything that is limiting the options you have in terms of degradations and the length of these things, it will pay in favor of Red Bull, pretty much sure. And in these kind of corners, I think that we can see a quicker Red Bull in these conditions, having in mind that you can do only 25 laps and you have to stop twice at least during during the race so yeah it goes to max sight so this will be you know as you say at least a two stopper as as dictated by the FIA of course two years ago here we had uh mandated stint lengths as well and finally if they were 18 laps whereas we're now up to 25 this year all we saw two years ago was the drivers just going flat out I've never seen them look more exhausted than after that race in 23 the conditions were a little bit different, isn't it?

22:22For the heat, we were in a different season of the year and the conditions were a little bit more difficult than this. But, yeah, I think it was a little bit surprising for everyone. Today, the drivers are not only good drivers. You need good skills to be quick in Formula 1. You have to manage many things. And I think the drivers are getting used to manage too much things. When they are not limited because of the managing, they were a little bit surprised of how demanding are these Formula 1s that are the quickest of the history so it's really impressive Let's rein it back in to what we think is going to happen this weekend Can I have some predictions from you?

23:04Let's have a sprint winner and then a 1-2-3 on Sunday That's tricky I would say sprint winner I put it on What's going through your head? What are you processing right now? To me, it's fairly obvious. You know that you have only one free practice. And I was thinking in one free practice who's managing better these conditions. So I would say that for one race, for the sprint race, I would say that McLaren will set up better the car. Do you think they'll be more conservative with their setup this weekend? Yes, they will. They must be. But not for the sprint, because maybe you can manage a little bit with less fuel.

23:49I'm pretty much sure that it's easier to manage. And it's not as bumpy as it was Las Vegas. So I don't think it's going to be a problem. The sprint is only 19 laps. They took too much risk there, but there is a lot of factors. It's not a matter of only taking the risk. There is a lot of factors that maybe they were misjudging in Las Vegas. So I think that they have this under control. They will be a lot more conservative. I don't think so. They have technology. They have a good team enough to not do these mistakes. again. So I would say that McLaren to win the sprint race. Which one? Yeah, I would say Lando.

24:26Lando for the sprint. And what about the Grand Prix? I would say Max. Lando wins the sprint and Max the race. Two and three on Sunday? Both McLarens. Yes, I would say. But this year is coming very difficult, Tom. You know, you see how the Mercedes are performing very well. Both. Antonelli, surprisingly quick this second part of the year amazing really really impressed about what he's doing and you know Ferrari have to have to save the season whenever they can so I'm expecting them to open the top of the power unit at least one race but maybe it is going to be Abu Dhabi not here Albert thank you thank you very much great to have you on the show yeah my pleasure always to listen to your podcast very interesting learning a lot of things with the people you are chatting with not this time but I will listen particularly this week yes alright thanks so much thanks to keep across all the action in Qatar this weekend go to F1.com the F1 app and at F1 on social media and in selected countries you can watch all the sessions live on F1 TV and don't forget to check out F1's other official podcast my latest guest on F1 Beyond the Grid is Sebastian Vettel That's out now and you can watch our chat on the official F1 YouTube channel.

25:49And this week's F1 Explains is all about Ford's return to F1 with Red Bull Racing in 2026. That's out on Friday. Just search for F1 Beyond the Grid and F1 Explains on your podcast app. Thanks very much for listening. We will, of course, be back on Monday from the Lusail Paddock with our review of the Qatar Grand Prix. F1 Nation is produced by Formula One and Audioboom Studios.

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27:17Owens Corning Duration Shingles offer ultimate protection. Choose from 26 stylish colors and transform your home today. Shop our selection of roofing products on Menards.com. Plus, check out our weekly flyer for all the great deals happening now. Save big money at the Nards.