Adrian Newey to Lead Aston Martin as Team Principal from 2026

Sports

Aston Martin has confirmed a major leadership overhaul for the 2026 Formula 1 season, announcing that Adrian Newey will take over as team principal as the team prepares for the new era of regulations. The move marks the first time in Newey’s illustrious career that he will serve as a team principal, adding leadership responsibilities on top of his technical influence.

Newey, widely regarded as the greatest designer in F1 history, joined Aston Martin as Managing Technical Partner in early 2025. His promotion is a clear signal of the team’s ambition to transform itself into a front-running contender when the new chassis and power unit regulations arrive in 2026. He will now oversee both the technical direction and the race-team operation, unifying the development of the car with decision-making on and off the track.

As part of the restructure, Andy Cowell will transition into a newly created Chief Strategy Officer role. Cowell, known for his previous success in leading Mercedes’ dominant hybrid-era engine programme, will focus on long-term planning, performance integration, and the execution of Aston Martin’s power-unit partnership and broader engineering strategy. His move allows Newey to take full control of daily team leadership while Cowell shapes the team’s future vision.

The timing of this shift is significant. With 2026 bringing sweeping changes to aerodynamics, energy deployment, and power-unit architecture, Aston Martin sees Newey as the ideal figure to guide the team through the technical revolution. His reputation for innovation, combined with his experience developing championship-winning cars across multiple eras, provides Aston Martin with one of the most valuable assets in the sport.

Newey expressed excitement about leading the organisation into a new chapter, emphasising his belief in the team’s infrastructure and long-term project. Cowell noted that the reshuffle strengthens the foundations needed to fight at the front, saying the realignment of responsibilities will streamline both development and strategy across the team.

With Newey at the helm and Cowell shaping future planning, Aston Martin enters the 2026 season with renewed direction and one of the most formidable leadership combinations on the grid. This marks a bold statement of intent: the team is targeting not just progress, but genuine competitiveness in the next era of Formula 1.