Damon Hill drops 4-word reaction to Adrian Newey talking about the 2026 F1 regulations`

Former F1 driver Damon Hill feels Adrian Newey has "found something" as he reacted to veteran F1 engineer discussing the 2026 regulations. Newey compared the regulation change to the ones that were introduced in the 2022 season, mentioning that there doesn't seem to be space for innovation at first, but they'd be able to find the gaps.

Aston Martin signed Newey after he announced leaving Red Bull last year. Popularly known as the 'aero wizard' on the grid, Adrian Newey's car designs have helped multiple teams establish dominance on the grid (including Damon Hill's Williams in 1996), and with the regulation changes coming in next season, the Silverstone-based outfit is expecting to perform better on the grid.

Discussing the major changes that F1 will experience next season, Newey mentioned that they give a similar picture to the regulations that were introduced in the 2022 season, with not much to work on. However, he further explained that getting into the details, there are different "avenues" that the teams could work on. Speaking in a video shared by Aston Martin on their Instagram page, Newey said:

"2026 regulations, in some ways, similar to the big regulation change in 2022, and as much as I remember first looking at the 2022 regulations thinking 'they're so prescriptive that there's not much left here. And then you start to drill into the detail and you actually realize there's more flexibility for innovation and different approaches than first meets the eye, and I think we're pursuing various avenues."

He further mentioned that it is currently difficult to assess if Aston Martin's innovations in the car, with the new regulations, would be better than other teams.

"Whether those different avenues to others and whether they will be a better avenue than others, we've got no idea, that's kind of part of the intrigue of Formula 1, especially when you get these big rule changes."

1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill, however, feels that Adrian Newey has found some innovation in the car as he reshared this on his social media, dropping a four-word reaction.

"Hmmm. He's found something," Hill wrote on Instagram story.

Damon Hill reacts to Adrian Newey's statement on the 2026 F1 regulations (@96f1champ on Instagram)

It was earlier reported that Newey has moved his complete focus to Aston Martin's 2026 project and is not working on the development of the current car.

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Adrian Newey finds it "scary" to have a new chassis and PU regulations

Apart from the major aerodynamic regulations, F1 is also set to experience a major change in the power unit regulations next year for the first time since 2014. While the teams would still be using V6 turbo-hybrid engines, the power delivery will rely more on the electrical components, with other changes.

This will make the 2026 season a completely new canvas for teams to work on, and it is currently tough to say which team will emerge at the top. Adrian Newey mentioned that this was the first time the sport was witnessing both chassis and PU regulations in the same year, which he finds "slightly scary."

"The other aspect of this is that, for the first time I can remember, we’ve got both the chassis regulations and power unit regulations changing at the same time," Newey said (via PlanetF1).

"This is interesting and slightly scary. Both the new aerodynamic rules and the PU regulations present opportunities."

Aston Martin is currently using Mercedes power units but will move to Honda in 2026 as the Japanese brand parts ways with Red Bull Racing.