Adrian Newey handed warning after Aston Martin workload doubles: 'It's a hell of a lot'

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has warned Adrian Newey that being both Aston Martin's team principal and managing technical partner is a "hell of an lot of work."

Newey officially joined Aston Martin in March last year in his managing technical partner role, before becoming team boss ahead of the 2026 season.

It was announced ahead of last season's Qatar Grand Prix that Newey would take over the role from Mike Cowell, who is now the British outfit's chief strategy officer.

For the 67-year-old, it represents the first time in his F1 career that he has found himself as a team principal, yet he has still been responsible for the design of the AMR26.

Designing an F1 car from scratch is one immense task in itself, let alone the additional pressure and workload of leading Aston Martin as team boss.

Newey being appointed team boss came as a major shock in the paddock, with Herbert wary of just how intense his life will become having two senior positions with incredible responsibility.

Asked if he ever thought Newey would become a team principal, Herbert told RacingNews365: "Nope. I think it's a surprise to all of us.

"We're going to have to wait and see if that actually works, because if he is supposed to be doing both things, that's one hell of an ask. I think, as a team principal, it's a hell of a lot of work that has to be done.

"Yeah, you've got your people around you that help, but even so, it takes a lot of energy to be able to do that. So let's see.

"We'll just have to wait and see exactly what his team — that he's created — is able to do with it, with the design of the car, and how fast that will be. It'll be down to how the power unit works, the Honda at the same time.

"So there's a lot of ifs and maybes, and there are probably more ifs and maybes than probably anybody else, in many respects."