Jun.26 (GMM) Adrian Newey’s recent comments about the driver simulator at Aston Martin could simply be a way to ease the pressure on his shoulders.
That’s the view of the team’s new Spanish simulator driver Dani Juncadella, after Newey last month denounced some of Aston Martin’s tools as “weak”.
“Particularly the driver-in-the-loop simulator, which is a fundamental research tool, needs a lot of work because it’s not correlating at all at the moment,” famed designer Newey, who switched from Red Bull for 2025 and beyond, said in late May.
Team boss Andy Cowell immediately played down Newey’s assessment that it will take two years to sort out the simulator problems, as did Fernando Alonso.
“I think all the simulators have some kind of correlation issues to the real car, but I think it will take less than two years to fix ours,” said Alonso.
Juncadella agrees, telling DAZN: “I don’t know how long it will take, but two years seems like a long time to me.
“Obviously, things take time because, in the end, we’re talking about an organisation with so many people. Newey has arrived and needs to structure the team in his own way, as he sees fit, with the leadership he’s been given, and that takes time.
“I think it’s also a way of taking the weight off his shoulders to say it’s going to take two years. That means less pressure,” the 34-year-old added.
Juncadella thinks the pressure has increased recently, given the huge investments made by team owner Lawrence Stroll for very limited results.
“I’m sure it’s been a wake-up call for everyone,” he said, “especially in a world like Lawrence Stroll’s. He’s not someone who likes to waste time.
“He needs solutions now.”
Juncadella also played down the significance of the simulator.
“It’s not like it’s the key piece of the puzzle to have a competitive car,” he insisted. “I’m sure that even if the simulator takes two years, the car will be better much sooner than that.
“If the simulator was that important, we would have the drivers in there every week.”
That said, Juncadella – signed by Aston Martin at the end of last year to be the key simulator driver – acknowledged that it is an important tool at the moment.
“The simulator is important for next year,” he said. “Even for testing very simple things like the new power units, where there are still many doubts about what will happen because I haven’t had the opportunity to test them.”
Aston Martin will be powered by works Honda power units from 2026, ending the current customer arrangement with Mercedes.
“There’s a lot of disparity of opinion regarding the power units next year,” Juncadella said, “and I don’t know what’s going to happen.
“You can build a car that’s a real rocket, but if the power unit is a problem next year, as has happened in other years when there have been major regulation changes, it could make things very difficult for you.”
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