Adrian Newey is named Aston Martin F1 team principal from 2026 onward after division of work, with Andy Cowell to become Chief Strategy Officer.
In a shuffle ahead of the 2026 F1 season, Aston Martin has named Newey as its team principal in a new role for the veteran designer. This is an additional role for him alongside his current work of Managing Technical partner where he has been leading the designing efforts.
He will now look after the technical team and trackside operations too. Newey succeeds Cowell, who took over from Mike Krack over a year ago. The Brit will now be the Chief Strategy Officer, reporting to Lawrence Stroll. He will form the bridge between different leading partners of the F1 team.
He will optimise the partnerships of Aston Martin with Honda, Aramco and Valvoline to streamline team’s new power unit, fuel and chassis partners. As expected, Stroll will continue to look after the business aspect. The news ends speculation about Christian Horner potentially joining the team after he was rumoured as team princiapl.
“Having implemented much needed structural changes as we transition to a full works team and set the foundations for Adrian and the wider organisation, it is an appropriate time for me to take a different role as Chief Strategy Officer,” said Cowell. “In this role, I will help to optimise the technical partnership between the Team, Honda, Aramco and Valvoline and to ensure the seamless integration of the Team’s new PU, fuel and chassis.”
Meanwhile, Stroll stated: “Andy Cowell has been a great leader this year. He’s focussed on building a world-class team and getting them to work well together, as well as fostering a culture that puts the race car back at the heart of what we do. This leadership change is a mutual decision we have reached in the interest of the Team.
“We all look forward to continuing working with him in his new capacity as Chief Strategy Officer. I’m also pleased that Adrian Newey will step into the Team Principal role, which will enable him to make full use of his creative and technical expertise. Both these changes will ensure the Team is best placed to play to their collective strengths.”
And Newey added: “Over the last nine months, I have seen great individual talent within our Team. I’m looking forward to taking on this additional role as we put ourselves in the best possible position to compete in 2026, where we will face an entirely new position with Aston Martin now a works team combined with the considerable challenge faced by the new regulations. Andy’s new role, focusing on the integration of the new PU with our three key partners, will be pivotal in this journey.”
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