Fuel the Passion Weekly Report: All Things Aston Martin
Week ending 30th November 2025
Dan from FTP, Editor’s Introduction
Some weeks in the Aston Martin world arrive quietly. And then there are weeks like this one, the kind that jolt the entire community awake.
A story breaks, the tone shifts, and suddenly you can feel the future reshaping itself. Combine that with Silverstone video finally dropping on the Fuel the Passion YouTube Channel, which brings back such great and evocative memories, the December AM Monthly landing, and a very unexpected personal moment tucked away in its pages, and it’s fair to say this has been one of the most energising roundups I’ve put together.
So let’s dive into what’s been happening across Aston Martin, AMOC, motorsport and heritage over the past seven days.
Corporate & Brand Developments: Adrian Newey to Become Aston Martin F1 Team Principal from 2026
The biggest headline by far, and one that’s sent shockwaves through motorsport, is the announcement that Adrian Newey will take over as Team Principal of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team from the 2026 season.
This follows his earlier appointment as Managing Technical Partner, deepening his influence and placing him at the very top of the F1 programme’s competitive operation.
Newey will step into the Team Principal role as Andy Cowell moves into a strategic position focused on long-term direction. This isn’t just a reshuffle; it’s a decisive re-alignment of the team’s leadership ahead of the 2026 regulation reset.
Reaction across the F1 community has been electric.
Media outlets, analysts, and paddock insiders are calling this the most significant internal leadership shift in the team’s modern era. On Chris Harris’ podcast, the sentiment was clear: when someone like Newey takes control, it signals seriousness, clarity, discipline, and an engineering-first philosophy taking centre stage.
For Aston Martin fans, this is enormous.
For rivals, it’s unsettling.
For the sport, it’s a major storyline.
And for the team, it’s a bold declaration: we’re not here to take part, we’re here to win.
Formula 1 — Qatar Grand Prix Weekend Begins
The 2025 Qatar Grand Prix is underway, with the race set for 16:00 GMT today. Qualifying and sprint running have already shaped the grid, and the tension around Lusail feels almost cinematic, a penultimate race where every point carries weight.
For Aston Martin, this weekend isn’t just another entry in the schedule. After this week’s leadership announcement, the team arrives with a slightly different aura, one eye on today, and one firmly on 2026.
It’s going to be a fascinating race to watch unfold.
Qatar Grand Prix Weekend: Championship Tension at Boiling Point
The 2025 Qatar Grand Prix weekend has delivered exactly the kind of drama you want from the penultimate race of the season; tension at the front, chaos in the midfield, and a qualifying session that could shape the destiny of the world championship.
Oscar Piastri stunned the paddock by taking pole position with a blistering 1:19.387, edging out McLaren team-mate Lando Norris by just over a tenth. Norris’ decision to abort his final lap could yet prove decisive in this title fight, a rare hesitation that leaves him with more work to do on Sunday if he hopes to wrap up the championship before Abu Dhabi.
Max Verstappen starts third, perfectly placed to disrupt the McLaren showdown, while Mercedes delivered a strong showing with Russell and Antonelli sealing the second row. Behind them, Isack Hadjar and Carlos Sainz impressed, despite a bizarre Q3 interruption in which Sainz was mistakenly sent out with a tyre-sticker still attached to his Williams, moments after Charles Leclerc survived a wild spin at Turn 15.
For Aston Martin, it was a mixed session:
Fernando Alonso qualified P8, placing himself right in the thick of the upper-midfield battle and giving the team a real shot at points.
Lance Stroll will start P19, having been knocked out in Q1 on a day when the Aston Martin didn’t quite hook into the track conditions early enough.
Given how tyre degradation and strategy typically dominate the Lusail circuit, Sunday’s race still offers a chance for a clever, steady climb and with the Constructors’ Championship positions separated by only a handful of points, every single position matters.
Up front, the pressure is immense.
Two McLarens.
One Verstappen.
Two races left.
And a championship that refuses to be decided early.
With Aston Martin arriving this weekend on the back of the seismic Adrian Newey leadership announcement, there’s an added undercurrent around the team, the sense that while today’s points matter, the horizon beyond 2025 suddenly looks very different.
Everything is set for a sensational Grand Prix.
Stock Watch – AML on the London Stock Exchange
(Not investment advice – just context for the story.)
Aston Martin Lagonda’s share price has had a quietly positive week. After a series of sharp swings earlier in the month, the stock has stabilised and pushed upward, finishing the week at 63.75p, up 3.49% over the last seven days.
The movement isn’t dramatic, but the tone is different: the price climbed steadily, recovering cleanly from mid-week dips and closing near the top of its weekly range. Momentum indicators point to a market showing renewed interest, not euphoric, but optimistic enough that buying pressure is beginning to outweigh selling. Even the technicals echo that shift: moving averages are nudging upward, volatility has tightened, and short-term signals suggest confidence rather than caution.
But the bigger picture remains unchanged. AML still sits far below the levels seen just a few years ago, and longer-term indicators, like the negative Sharpe ratio and relatively high beta, underline that this is still a volatile stock with uneven risk-return balance.
In simple terms: short-term strength is emerging, but long-term stability remains a work in progress.
Still, for a brand in the headlines for all the right reasons this week, it’s encouraging to see the share price at least nudging in the same direction: up!
AMOC Highlights of the Week
The December AM Monthly paints a picture of a club stepping confidently into its next chapter.
There’s a real sense that AMOC isn’t simply celebrating what it has achieved this year, particularly the recently awarded IHMA “Club of the Year” title, but using that momentum as a springboard into 2026. New sub-committees, expanded global membership activity, and a renewed commitment to regional and international events all signal a club with its eyes firmly on the horizon.
Amid all this, the magazine also delivered a personal surprise: tucked quietly on page 6 was the announcement that I had been awarded the Roger Thornton–Brown Trophy, recognising the use of IT to benefit club members. To receive such an honour for the digital storytelling we’ve built together through Fuel the Passion, from the Austria 90th Anniversary series to the promotional pieces that supported the event, is incredibly humbling.
But the real story lies in the full list of winners: volunteers, competitors, archivists, reps and enthusiasts who pour their time and love into keeping the club vibrant. AMOC thrives because of people like them.
The issue also includes some lovely heritage notes. The DB6 60th Anniversary reflections remind us why this model remains one of the marque’s most enduring icons; elegant, understated, timeless. Meanwhile, the Era Representatives provide wonderful snapshots from across the Aston Martin timeline: Feltham cars on quiet lawns, DB6s gathered at Blenheim and Saalfelden, modern cars intertwined with older stories, all threaded together by owners who care deeply for their piece of the Aston story.
AMOC 2025 International Virtual Showcase
One of the most engaging highlights this week was the announcement of the AMOC 2025 International Virtual Showcase results, a truly global celebration of members and their cars. With 183 entries across 19 categories from 17 countries, it continues to be one of the most inclusive and far-reaching events the club offers. The Zoom event on 23 November brought finalists together from early-morning and late-night time zones, sharing their cars and stories with enthusiasm.
The overall winner was Peter Halter (CH) with his beautiful 1933 Le Mans, a car that perfectly represents the character and international spirit of the showcase. Congratulations Peter and for all those who took part.
The full results and recording are available now on the AMOC website.
2026 is just around the corner!
Looking ahead, the 2026 event calendar is already taking shape, with early movements in concours planning, international meet-ups, Young Members initiatives and road-tour discussions.
There are few ‘save the date’ placements on the AMOC website for you to be aware of. So visit the AMOC site to check these out and get in your new 2026 diary! Or maybe a diary is a gift that’s eagerly awaited for Christmas!
Link provided below which will take you straight to AMOC.
The early signs suggest another full and exciting year, one that builds on everything the club has worked toward in 2025.
And taking a step back from all of this, I’m reminded why AMOC continues to matter.
It’s a place where heritage and humanity meet, where pre-war owners, modern Vantage drivers, collectors, restorers and first-time members all share the same space. A club that carries its history proudly, but always makes room for new stories.
If you’ve had a memorable Aston Martin moment recently, a new car, a restoration update, an event story or even your first AMOC meet, I’d love to feature it in a future roundup.
Fuel the Passion has always been about the people behind the cars, and your stories are what keep this community alive.
To find out more information about the Aston Martin Owners Club (AMOC) or you wish to join (I strongly recommend you do!), simply click on the image here and we’ll take you straight there!
🎥 FTP Video this Week — Astons Takeover Silverstone
100 Astons on track!
This week’s new video is one I’ve been excited to share for months, the Aston Martin parade lap at the 2025 Silverstone Festival, where nearly 100 Aston Martins of every era rolled out together onto the Grand Prix circuit.
It’s one of those moments where time folds in on itself:
Feltham cars, Newport Pagnell icons, modern Vantages and DBS Superleggeras all sharing the same tarmac that carried Moss, Clark, Senna, Schumacher and Hamilton. And right in the middle of it all the FTP Vantage, where I’m trying to take it all in.
It’s moments like that, that don’t happen very often, so you have to make a conscious effort to absorb every moment! Similar to Christmas day or your wedding day!
Onboard footage from the rear of Peter’s DB6 with that outlook! - A scene you don’t see every day!
From the onboard footage to the rear-facing camera mounted on a DB6, the video really captures the scale, the sound and the emotion of the moment. It also includes a wander around the Aston Martin Owners Club stand, and the next video will continue with a look inside the Silverstone Museum, including Nigel Mansell’s legendary Red 5 Williams, and a few other gems.
If you want a few minutes of pure Aston Martin atmosphere, community spirit and Silverstone magic, this is the one.
The full video is OUT NOW, click on the link below to view — I’d love to know what you think.
Market Watch – Big-Number Astons
FTP Photograph: Aston Martin Valkyrie amongst other amazing cars at Goodwood Super Sunday earlier in 2025
At the very top of the tree, a 2024 Aston Martin Valkyrie Coupé made headlines at RM Sotheby’s London sale at The Peninsula earlier this month, selling for £2,226,875 including premium.
It sat alongside the likes of Ferrari’s FXX-K Evo and an Alfa 8C 2900 in a sale that grossed just over £23.7m, but for Aston fans it was a reminder of where Gaydon’s hypercar now sits in the collectors’ hierarchy. RM Sotheby's+2Magneto+2
Final Thoughts
Looking back over this week, it feels like one of those moments where the Aston Martin world moves in several directions at once; the corporate headlines, the motorsport storylines, the club celebrations, the heritage milestones, and the personal moments all weaving together into one bigger picture.
Adrian Newey stepping into a leadership role for 2026 has shifted the conversation at the very top of the sport. The Qatar Grand Prix has added another twist to an already dramatic championship fight. The AMOC continues to push forward with a sense of purpose, energy and global reach, reflected beautifully through the Virtual Showcase and the pages of the December AM Monthly. And on a personal note, receiving the Roger Thornton–Brown Trophy has been both humbling and motivating in equal measure.
But what really ties all of this together is the same thing that drives Fuel the Passion every week:
people, stories, and the shared love of a marque that means something different and something special, to all of us.
Whether it’s a Vantage carving through Silverstone, a pre-war Aston winning a virtual concours, or a DB6 celebrating 60 years of elegance, the thread that connects it all is community. Owners, fans, volunteers, engineers, racers, storytellers, all contributing to a world that’s far greater than the sum of its parts.
Thank you for reading, for following, and for being part of this growing FTP community. Here’s to another week of stories worth telling, and miles worth remembering.
If you’ve got something happening in your Aston Martin world, big or small, drop me a message. I’d love to share it in a future roundup.
