Adrian Newey says time will tell if Aston Martin AMR26 design philosophy is the right one

The AMR26 broke cover in Barcelona last week in a full carbon black livery, and its late debut was due to delays in its development—a Newey trademark as he pushes the development till the last minute possible.

But despite the late appearance, the AMR26's striking design turned heads as soon as it rolled out of the Aston Martin garage, with many reckoning that Newey has delivered another masterpiece.

In an interview on the Aston Martin F1 Team website, Newey was asked how he decided the design approach of the AMR26.

He said: "We took a really close look at the regulations and what we believe we want to achieve from a flow field perspective to suit them.

"From there started to evolve a geometry that attempts to create the flow fields that we want. It's very much a holistic approach, but, in truth, with a completely new set of regulations, nobody is ever sure what the right philosophy is."

"We certainly aren't sure what the best interpretation of the regulations is and, therefore, the best philosophy to follow," the Briton responded when quizzed how he, out of all F1 designers, could not be sure about his approach.

He then explained, "Because of our compressed timescale, we decided on a particular direction, and that's the one we've pursued.

"Whether that proves to be the right one or not, only time will tell. But you have to choose your path and get on with it."

While many regard Newey's designs as aggressive or extreme, he claims that is not the case.

"I never look at any of my designs as aggressive," he said. "I just get on with things and pursue what we feel is the right direction.

"The direction we've taken could certainly be interpreted as aggressive. It's got quite a few features that haven't necessarily been done before.

"Does that make it aggressive? Possibly. Possibly not," the 67-year-old engineer concluded.