Aston Martin F1 has roped in former Mercedes HPP head Andy Cowell to become its new Group Chief Executive Officer.

In another big shot hiring, Aston Martin has roped in former Mercedes HPP Managing Director Cowell from the German outfit to be there new Group Chief Executive Officer, who will reporting directly to company boss, Lawrence Stroll.

Cowell will replace Martin Whitmarsh in the position after the former McLaren man took over the role few years ago. Cowell will start his work from October 1 of this year and comes in after working with BMW and largely with Mercedes in his career.

He played a big hand in the hybrid success of Mercedes. “I am thrilled to join Lawrence’s exciting project and look forward to working with the talented group of people that has been assembled,” said Cowell, who joins at a time when Aston Martin is to transition from Mercedes power unit to Honda.

“F1 has always been my competitive passion, and I am joining Aston Martin Aramco at an exciting time with the imminent completion of the AMR Technology Campus and our transition in 2026 to a full works team with our strategic partners Honda and Aramco.”

On the steam side, Stroll said: “I would like to thank Martin who has been instrumental in our growth phase as a business. In the last three years, he has developed the team and has helped us achieve some significant milestones, including fostering our relationship with Honda and delivering our state-of-the-art AMR Technology Campus at Silverstone.

“I am delighted to welcome Andy to our team at a crucial time. Together with our works partnership with Honda, the commitment from our title partner Aramco and Andy’s leadership we are on track to become a world championship winning team. Andy has my full backing and will have every resource available to win.”

Outgoing CEO Whitmarsh added: “I have known Andy for many years and brought him to Mercedes HPP in 2004 where he became Managing Director between 2013 and 2020, achieving huge success in the business and sport. He will be an incredible asset to Aston Martin Aramco and will make a significant contribution to the execution of our strategy going forward.

“Andy’s arrival in October and the completion of the AMR Technology Campus will allow me to step away and focus on other projects in my life, knowing that the foundations have been established with an impressive team, inspiring vision and advanced facilities to achieve success in F1.”

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