Why have Aston Martin made Adrian Newey team principal?
In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Aston Martin have announced that Adrian Newey will lead the team through their 2026 season trackside as team principal as part of a change to the team's leader
Adrian Newey was announced as a Managing Technical Partner of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team around 14 months ago following his departure from Red Bull Racing. But now, exactly 100 days prior to the first race of the 2026 season, he’s been announced to be taking over the role of team principal alongside that.
As the team acknowledge in this announcement, the 2026 season will bring “the biggest changes to Formula One in a generation” and therefore the opportunity offered up to the teams for a shakeup of the competitive order is significant.
To capitalise on that opportunity and “ensure the team is well prepated to play to its collective strengths in 2026”, it has made “strategic changes” to its leadership structure.
As part of those changes, Andy Cowell, their current CEO and team principal, will be moved to become Chief Strategy Officer just 11 months after he was announced to have moved into the team principal role in the first place.
Over that time, the team note that he has implemented “the much-needed structural changes to support the transition to a full works team in readiness for the new regulations in 2026.” Having successfully laid the foundations, he will move to focus on working closely with the team’s technical partners – drawing on his extensive experience relating to power units as former Managing Director at Mercedes High Performance Powertrains.
Those partners include Honda, Aston Martin’s PU supplier from next season, but also Aramco and Valvoline to ensure the “seamless integration” of the team’s new PU, fuel and chassis as they become a full-works team for the first time.
Adrian Newey’s existing role began in March earlier this year, but he will now be responsible for guiding the technical team, including the trackside operations of the first car he has been involved in designing for the Silverstone-based squad.
It’s a challenge he has said he is “looking forward to taking on” as they look to put themselves in the best possible position as Aston Martin “face an entirely new position” as a works team and with the “considerable challenge faced by the new regulations”.
It will mark a first for the acclaimed designer behind twelve constructors’ championship winning cars, who previously has held roles such as technical director or chief designer.