Red Bull surprise at Aston Martin u-turn: 'Someone there is having some influence'

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has conceded to surprise at the sudden about-turn in form from Aston Martin, leaving him curious as to whether the Adrian Newey effect is now playing a part.

Although only Friday practice at Zandvoort, Aston Martin certainly suggested it is in the mix for high grid slots, with Lance Stroll confident he and team-mate Fernando Alonso can be on the first two rows.

Stroll threw a spanner in the works with a heavy smash 11 minutes into FP2, leaving the team facing major overnight repairs to the AMR25, yet Alonso went on to finish second quickest, splitting McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with the trio covered by less than nine-hundredths of a second.

That was no flash-in-the-pan lap from Alonso as he and Stroll were fourth and third quickest respectively in FP1 as the twisty nature of the circuit again appeared to play to the strengths of the car, as it did at the Hungaroring, where Aston Martin had its best result of the year, with Alonso fifth and Stroll seventh.

Although Newey's focus since his arrival in March has been on the 2026 car, Marko feels someone is making a difference, given the jump in form from Aston Martin of late.

Newey, of course, left Red Bull after 19 years' service, helping the team win eight drivers' championships and six constructors' crowns, before eventually making his way to Aston Martin.

Asked by Sky DE whether the Newey effect was now visible at Aston Martin, Marko replied: "I don't know, but Newey is always an advantage.

"The jump is really huge. At Spa, they were still last or penultimate [Alonso was 17th of 20], and now they are regularly driving in the points. Surely that points to someone there having some influence."

As for Red Bull, Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda were fifth and seventh fastest respectively, with the four-time F1 champion six-tenths of a second down, and the Japanese driver nine-tenths off the pace.

Although with considerable time still to be found, Marko was at least relieved to an extent, stating: "Let's put it this way, better than in Hungary.

"But that was not so difficult, and we have not yet fully found the right balance. The harder the rubber, the easier it is for us. We also saw that in the long run."

Assessing the overall picture, Marko feels it will be a three-way fight behind the McLarens.

He added: "Aston Martin is surprisingly strong, and Mercedes is more or less on par. Ferrari seems to have some more problems. It might be a battle between Aston Martin, Mercedes and us."