Nico Rosberg compares Aston Martin F1 team to star-studded PSG era

Aston have signed designer Adrian Newey but Rosberg warns that Newey alone won’t make them champions

Nico Rosberg compared Aston Martin’s F1 outfit to the star-studded era at PSG, explaining the challenges at play for the Silverstone-based outfit.

Aston signed F1 design genius Adrian Newey from Red Bull last month. The design guru, who has won a combined 25 F1 titles in a 35-year career in the sport, will join next March with an eye on the new set of regulations in 2026.

Yet 2016 F1 world champion Rosberg insists Newey alone won’t bring success to drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. In the process, Rosberg pinpointed the difficulties a PSG team which included Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe faced they failed to win the Champions League.

"Look at PSG, in soccer," Rosberg told Sky F1 in Singapore. "They had Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, all three at the same time. Three of the best soccer players of all time, and all the others were very good as well.

"And they never won the Champions League. Because, of course, it’s great to bring the greatest geniuses, the best managers on board.

"However, they still need to then gel, work together optimally, because you’re only as good as the whole team is collaboratively."

"Adrian Newey on his own is not going to be able to make that car a world-championship-winning car. He needs the rest of the team.

"Of course, he can give them a good direction, he can give very good guidance, but he still needs the team to excel with him.

Adrian Newey (left) was unveiled by Aston Martin in September (Bradley Collyer/PA) (PA Wire)

"That remains to be seen. That’s going to be a challenge definitely for them to integrate and make that into a family that is all pulling in the same direction."

Newey’s arrival is a key cog in owner Lawrence Stroll’s vision to turn Aston Martin into F1 world champions.

Currently, Aston are fifth in the constructors’ standings – 52 points ahead of RB in sixth but a mammoth 243 points behind Mercedes in fourth.

F1 returns after a three-week break with the United States Grand Prix in Austin on 18-20 October.