Adrian Newey shuffles into the room on the top deck of Aston Martin’s paddock home in Monaco and smiles. “Ta-da,” he says, as if he has appeared from behind a curtain in a magic show. Then, as he makes his way over to a table that has been laid out for him in front of a handful of journalists,

Aston Martin's chances of signing Max Verstappen will be a 'pipe dream' until they have a car good enough for Red Bull's four-time world champion, according to the team's design great Adrian Newey.

Aston Martin can be pleased with the first indications from their Imola update package, which also seems to be generating more performance in Monaco. The