Adrian Newey is to become Aston Martin’s Formula 1 team principal from the start of next year as part of a restructuring at the squad.
The design legend, who originally joined the outfit as managing technical partner earlier this season, is to take on expanded responsibilities from the start of 2026.
It comes with current team boss Andy Cowell taking the new position of chief strategy officer.
In his new position, Cowell will be focused on getting the most out of the partnership between the team, new engine partner Honda, and its fuel supplier Aramco.
Speaking about his new role, Newey said: “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.”
Cowell’s change of role comes a little more than 12 months after he began work at the team as CEO.
Last winter he assumed the role of team principal as part of a shake-up that he felt was needed for Aston Martin to make progress and to be in the best shape possible for the arrival of Newey.
However, there have been suggestions recently of disagreements between Newey and Cowell about the direction that Aston Martin needed to go if it was to achieve its full potential and win races in F1.
Almost immediately after he joined, Newey had delivered some forthright opinions about where he felt Aston Martin was lacking.
He said at the Monaco GP earlier this year that he felt its simulation facilities were below standard.
As Newey has dug further into the processes there, he has pushed for more changes – and a desire to refocus priorities triggered the recent departure of seven senior personnel from the aero team, including aerodynamics director Eric Blandin.
It is understood that the lack of consensus between Cowell and Newey was the catalyst for a change of approach, as it was clear Aston Martin would only succeed if its senior management was completely in agreement with the direction needed.
While other candidates had been in the frame for the team principal role – including former F1 team bosses Christian Horner, who emerged as a leading contender, and Andreas Seidl – Aston Martin announced on Wednesday that Newey was being slotted in for 2026.
Cowell said on Wednesday that now was “an appropriate time” to take a new position at the team, especially one that would play to the strengths he showed during his many years at Mercedes.
Team owner Lawrence Stroll said that the management shake-up with Newey and Cowell had been agreed by all parties.
“Andy Cowell has been a great leader this year,” said Stroll. “He’s focused 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.”
Speaking about Newey, Stroll believed that giving him team principal responsibilities would “make full use of his creative and technical expertise”.
