Aston Martin are optimistic that Adrian Newey's arrival will significantly boost their performance after a "frustrating" wait during his time off. Newey, a Formula 1 legend known as one of the sport's finest car designers, built an impressive legacy with McLaren and Williams before his tenure at Red Bull.

Over 18 years, he was pivotal in turning the Milton Keynes team into consistent championship contenders, with Red Bull securing six team titles and eight drivers' championships under his design expertise. However, in April last year, news broke that Newey wished to leave Red Bull, which was confirmed on May 1.

Aston Martin later revealed that Newey would join them as managing technical partner, beginning on March 3. Andy Cowell, Aston's new team principal and CEO, acknowledged the period of gardening leave has been "frustrating" for Newey but is confident that once his new recruit starts his role, he will be instrumental in advancing the Silverstone-based team's success.

Cowell praised Newey, saying: "He's one of the few engineers that can bridge across aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics and the data logger that is the driver.

"He can communicate well with the driver and pull out the comments that the telemetry perhaps isn't showing and can bring that back into the factory on campus and help us chase the thing that will deliver the best lap time improvement. I think we'll feel the benefit of him in the opening days.

"I'm sure he's frustrated with not working on a Formula 1 car at the moment, especially as there are new regulations out. And I'm sure he will be coming up with observations pertinent to the car concept, and also in terms of the tools, in terms of the fidelity of our tools and equipment, and his thoughts on where we should make improvements."

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has seen the technology break into numerous industries, including the world of F1. However, Cowell has insisted that having real individuals, like Newey, working is far more important.

He added: "Human creativity is hard to quantify, isn't it? There's the threat of AI coming in and taking over from human creativity, but I think AI is a tool that helps human creativity. So I think individuals like Adrian, he's got a broad perspective and the determination to chase down beliefs in performance, and I believe that's what he will add."

This article originally appeared on Mirror