Aston Martin is on the hunt for a new Team Principal to turn around its disastrous start to the 2026 Formula 1 season, with Adrian Newey leading the charge.
Aston Martin’s start to the 2026 technical regulations has been nothing short of a disaster, the first two races exposing a raft of issues.
The AMR26 has proven to be both slow and unreliable, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll relegated to the back of the grid in Australia and Shanghai.
Ending its agreement with Mercedes in favour of Honda power, Aston’s new works alliance has deep-rooted problems that cannot be fixed overnight.
Such are the issues; Aston Martin went into the Australian GP with just two working batteries, while both drivers had severely reduced track time in China.
Although the blame primarily resides with Honda, speculation has grown over the future of new Team Principal Adrian Newey.
Newey leading the charge for a Team Principal replacement at Aston Martin
Newey was announced by Lawrence Stroll in 2024 to join the team in 2025 to work on Aston Martin’s new challenger for the 2026 regulation overhaul.
But the appointment that caused intrigue in the paddock, looks set to be over in the near future.
Planet F1 has reported that Newey is leading the charge to find a new Team Principal, the decision being taken before the inherent issues with its car and Honda were revealed.
Several suitors are being considered for the position, including former Aston Martin Group CEO Martin Whitmarsh and Max Verstappen’s race engineer GianPiero Lambiase.
Lambiase has declined, while Whitmarsh’s status remains unclear. Other names approached are new Audi Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley, and his predecessor, Mattia Binotto.
The frontrunner to replace Newey is former McLaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl, while former Red Team Principal Christian Horner is an outside contender.
No formal decision has been taken on an appointment, as conversations continue.
Newey’s departure from his role at Aston Martin is a logical move; he has never been a public-facing figure. Instead his strength is found behind the scenes, organising and innovating technical departments.
By taking a step back into that domain, it frees the Briton up to spearhead the team’s recovery, and assist the work with Honda to transform their ailing fortunes.
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