The day has come for Adrian Newey. As expected, the “English genius” begins today, Monday, March 3, a new professional adventure. After achieving success with Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull (his personal tally includes 13 drivers’ and 12 constructors’ championships), he joins Aston Martin in a significant role: “Managing Technical Partner” and shareholder of the Silverstone-based team.
This morning, Adrian will find his office ready, set up according to his specifications. Andy Cowell, Aston Martin’s team principal, sparked some curiosity about Newey’s debut during the Bahrain tests: “I could show you a photo, but there are too many of you to look at the image on my phone. So, yes, I confirm that his office is ready. And the drawing board is there waiting for him too.”
Lawrence Stroll, owner of the Silverstone team, had officially announced on September 10 that Newey would join the team once his gardening leave from Red Bull was over. In the meantime, Aston Martin’s leadership has been revolutionized, preparing a work group with great ambitions.
Martin Whitmarsh, the team’s CEO, was shown the door to make way for Andy Cowell, the former head of Mercedes’ engine division. The Englishman, besides taking charge of the factory, has also assumed the role of team principal, moving Mike Krack to focus solely on trackside operations.
Dan Fallows, one of Adrian Newey’s protégés at Red Bull, was reassigned to another role within the Aston Martin Group after the failure of the AMR24. The position of Chief Technical Officer, overseeing the architecture, design, and construction of new cars, has been entrusted to Enrico Cardile, the former Ferrari chassis technical director who resigned last July.
The Arezzo-born engineer had already started working at the modern Campus, but Ferrari intervened to block his move, opening a dispute over his gardening leave, which would only allow him to be free from July 17, putting some sand in the gears of Aston Martin.
“We are looking forward to having a thousand people working well together,” admitted Cowell. “We are excited to welcome Adrian, while there will still be many departures in the team because we are changing our identity. In 2024, we counted 248 exits.”
Cowell cannot predict when Enrico Cardile will be able to rejoin the technical group but remains optimistic: “There is already a great group of people working on the 2026 car. And as we add more, we become stronger.”
In reality, Enrico Cardile’s block has irritated Stroll, as the Italian would play a strategic role in Newey’s organization, which is already starting off on the wrong foot.
So far, Aston Martin has not impressed with the AMR25, which ran during the collective tests in Sakhir. The feeling is that the “Green Machine” is behind in its development after modifying its aerodynamic concept, returning to a low-cornering car after failing with the speed-corner version. The potential is likely greater than what was seen in Bahrain, but it’s evident that the team’s resources are already heavily focused on 2026.
Newey will offer some useful advice for the evolution of the AMR25, at least until the new wind tunnel is fully calibrated to begin work on the 2026 model.
Aston Martin is undergoing a complex transition phase. Entering a new facility aiming to become the state-of-the-art for modern F1 inevitably requires a calibration period of varying length.
Additionally, Silverstone is ending its partnership with Mercedes (the AMR25 uses a copy of the W16’s rear end) and will transition from a customer team to a factory outfit by switching to Honda as its power unit supplier. Adrian Newey knows the Japanese manufacturer well, though the 2026 engine regulations make entering the clean propulsion era particularly challenging. Furthermore, Aston Martin will need to develop its own gearbox and rear suspension—technical aspects it has never handled before, as they were supplied by Mercedes and shared with Williams.
With Newey’s arrival, there is an opportunity to leverage his creativity in these areas as well, but entirely new working groups have had to be formed within the factory.
Cowell explains that Aston Martin’s “concept department” is already fully focused on next year. “It’s a massive topic for all 10 teams. For us, some areas of our operation are already 100% focused on 2026.”
While Newey may have free rein over the AMR25 project and the 2026 car, Andy Cowell clarifies that he prefers not to have team members working on both projects simultaneously. “If an engineer thinks about today’s car and next year’s car at the same time, it’s natural for them to focus on the present. And if they start thinking about the future in the afternoon, they’ll already be a bit tired and won’t be at their best.”
Leave a Reply