Reports claim that Aston Martin is due to lose Tom McCullough, the Formula 1 team’s performance director for 13 years.
McCullough has been with Aston Martin long before it became the English racing green team it’s known as today. He joined the team back when they were Force India two iterations ago in 2014.
The performance director remained with the team through the transition to Racing Point and then, finally, to Aston Martin in 2021. He moved into a senior leadership role in 2018, where he was named the performance director and remained as such until 2024.
As the team restructured in 2025, Andy Cowell took the CEO position as Mike Krack became the trackside officer.
In this transition, Krack took over a large portion of the responsibilities once held by McCullough, and subsequently the performance director’s focus shifted from the F1 side of operations to Aston Martin’s Performance Technologies. His focus was on expanding the Silverstone team’s pursuits into other racing categories.
Departing the team
While he’s spent the last 20 months focused on the other motorsport pursuits, he’s still a performance director in name. However, PlanetF1.com reports that he plans to leave the team entirely at the end of 2026.
The F1 side has continued to restructure, with Adrian Newey moving from his initial role to take over as Team Principal. It is only an interim position following the departure of Cowell.
Reports assume that it will be Jonathan Wheatley who takes on this role within Aston Martin, leaving his current position at Audi. However, it will likely not be confirmed until his exit from the German team.
For McCullough, his experience means he has his pick of where he chooses to work if he wants to remain on the F1 grid. With a decade with Williams and 13 years with Aston Martin, he presents as an incredibly valuable asset.
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