Adrian Newey will become Aston Martin’s Team Principal at the start of 2026, extending his role as Managing Technical Partner and taking on broader responsibility for the technical team, including trackside operations.
Newey joined Aston Martin on March 1, 2025, after nearly two decades at Red Bull. He has already been working on the 2026 car, which must comply with sweeping new chassis and power unit regulations as Aston Martin prepares to operate as a full works team with Honda.
Andy Cowell, who has served this year as Team Principal and CEO and led structural changes to ready the squad for its works status, will move to the newly created role of Chief Strategy Officer. Cowell will concentrate on optimising the technical partnership between the team, works engine supplier Honda, fuel partner Aramco and lubricant partner Valvoline, and on ensuring the seamless integration of the team’s new power unit, fuel and chassis. He will report to executive chairman Lawrence Stroll, who will continue to lead the team’s business functions.
Aston Martin said the leadership change is intended to align Newey and Cowell’s “individual strengths and expertise, ensuring organisational efficiency.”
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. Andy’s new role, focusing on the integration of the new PU with our three key partners, will be pivotal in this journey.”
Stroll added: “Andy Cowell has been a great leader this year. 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. We all look forward to continuing working with him in his new capacity as Chief Strategy Officer.”
Cowell said: “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. 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.”
Aston Martin have endured a difficult 2025 season and sit eighth in the Constructors’ Championship with two race weekends remaining, but the team hopes Newey’s expanded remit and the works partnership will deliver a significant performance step in 2026.