Adrian Newey announced as Aston Martin team principal from 2026

In a major move, Aston Martin have named Adrian Newey as their Team Principal for the 2026 onwards, replacing current CEO and Team Principal Andy Cowell. Cowell will move into a new role as Chief Strategy Officer.

Adrian Newey will become a Team Principal for the first time in his career | Credit: Formula One

After various reports suggested a falling out between Andy Cowell and recently appointed aerodynamic legend Adrian Newey over the operational trajectory at Aston Martin, it has been confirmed that Newey will take over as the outfit's Team Principal through the new regulatory era.

Sharing his thoughts on this new role, Newey stated: "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."

Newey, the engineer behind 12 Constructors’ and 14 Drivers' World Championships, has been working on Aston Martin’s 2026 challenger and owing to his illustrious record, inevitably has more sway in the team’s operations. 

This allegedly led to a fracture in his relationship with Cowell, who had opposing views of how the team should proceed with their development.

Rumoured disagreements between Newey and Cowell combined with the team's dip in performance likely spurred Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll to transfer Cowell, who will take on the role of Chief Strategy Officer within Aston Martin.

Cowell's new position will focus more on power unit development, in light of the Silverstone outfit’s imminent Honda switch.

Andy Cowell moves to new role as Chief Strategy Officer | Credit: Formula One

Summarising this thoughts on the internal shuffle, Cowell said: "Having implemented much needed structural changes as we transition to a full works team and set the foundations for Adrian [Newey] and the wider organisation, it is an appropriate time for me to take a different role as Chief Strategy Officer.

"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."

Newey emphasised the importance of Cowell's new position at Aston Martin, stating: "Andy's new role, focusing on the integration of the new PU with our three key partners, will be pivotal in this journey [into the new regulations]."

The team is currently the lowest in the Constructors' Championship they've ever been, eighth with 72 points. A clear setback from the previous two years where they secured the 'best of the rest' bonus in fifth, Aston Martin has struggled to find consistency in the 2025 season.

Their biggest points haul came at the Hungarian Grand Prix with Fernando Alonso's fifth and Lance Stroll's seventh place finishes, while over the last three rounds, both cars have failed to secure points.

Cowell’s termination Team Principal and Newey's subsequent promotion at this time joins the growing list of high-profile personnel changes within the team, following Otmar Szafnauer’s resignation ahead of the 2022 season as well as Mike Krack and Martin Whitmarsh’s later departures.

As Aston Martin prepares to enter a new era of technical regulations in partnership with Honda, the team will be eager to reverse their championship fortunes after recent years of occupying the lower end of the standings.

With Newey at the helm, the team will be eager for a more successful future in the hands of a Formula One legend.