Pedro de la Rosa says Aston Martin "not yet seeing light" but full faith in Adrian Newey

Speaking to rteporters in Monaco, motorsport veteran De la Rosa, admitting there is still no sign of a breakthrough despite the vast resources invested by owner Lawrence Stroll and the arrival of design guru Adrian Newey.

Much was expected of the AMR26, Newey's first Aston Martin creation, but the reality has been grim. On Friday in Monaco, the team looked rooted to the foot of the field. Fernando Alonso ended the day 18th and 2.2 seconds off the pace, while Lance Stroll was another second adrift in the second car.

Speaking in Monaco, de la Rosa conceded the team remains stuck in a hole despite months of work behind the scenes. Asked if Aston Martin was finally beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, he replied: "Definitely not yet. We are where we are. It’s a difficult start, especially because we are in a position that we were not expecting to be in.

"However, there are really a lot of things happening behind the scenes in the factory which makes us believe that the upgrades, all the significant changes that we will introduce around the summer, will deliver.

"But we have to talk about what we have right now, and what we have right now is a very difficult car. Drivers that are doing their best and they’re doing absolutely an incredible job to drive the car as fast as they can in a reliable and safe way. But it is difficult."

The Spaniard admitted Aston Martin has spent much of the year talking about future improvements rather than delivering them on track.

"I would prefer to delay this when we see the light, when the actual upgrades are running and we can rely on facts," de la Rosa added. "My words, we’ve been talking so much about what can be and the light at the end of the tunnel that sometimes it’s a bit just repeating ourselves a bit too much."

De la Rosa also painted a picture of frustration for Alonso and Stroll, both of whom continue to wrestle with a car that has repeatedly exposed its weaknesses throughout the season: "There are many positives in the sense that the vibration issues are gone, past, it’s gone.

"And Fernando did not say anything over the radio after FP1 about his seat, which is positive as well, which means that all the work that has been done on Tuesday at this track, trying to fit his ’25 seat in this ’26 car, has worked.

"However, Lance was complaining about seat problems, so we still have to fix some other problems, but it is going in the right direction," said the Spaniard.

The situation has been particularly painful for Alonso, who entered the project believing Aston Martin could become a championship contender.

The AMR26 is the worst on the grid a Monaco this weekend. Alonso ending FP2 on day one in P20, 2.2 seconds off the top time of the day, with Lance Stroll in the sister car nearly a full second further back, P22 and last on the timing screens

De la Rosa acknowledged: "It’s difficult for everyone. Drivers especially, because they have to drive the car, they have to face the car, they have to face the media, they have to explain every race what’s going on, very similar questions to known problems.

"And we know that in the next few races we have no upgrades. However, we can see the upgrades coming, but they’re far away."

Despite the bleak competitive picture, de la Rosa remains convinced Newey is the right man to lead Aston Martin's recovery. Having worked with the legendary designer at McLaren two decades ago, he sees no change in the qualities that made Newey Formula 1's most successful technical mind.

"I see no difference whatsoever on Adrian. He’s working flat out. His work ethic is outstanding," de la Rosa said. "He’s one of those engineers that always listens to the driver more than anyone I’ve ever worked with."

Recalling an episode from his McLaren days, de la Rosa explained how Newey transformed a handling issue after a brief conversation about understeer at Turn 1: "And that’s Adrian, just listening to the driver. What makes him special is that actually he delivers.

"Great to see him in the team, really. He’s a great leader and someone that is truly inspirational for all of us and for so many young engineers that have joined Aston Martin," concluded De la Rosa.

For now, however, Aston Martin's reality remains harsh. Newey may be working flat out, upgrades may be on the horizon and hope may still exist within the Silverstone factory, but as de la Rosa openly admitted in Monaco, the team is not seeing any light just yet.