Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team leadership change 2026

[Emilio Largo]

"Aston Martin Aramco announces changes to leadership structure ahead of the 2026 season.

Andy Cowell and Adrian Newey have agreed to divide their responsibilities in order to focus on their individual strengths and expertise, ensuring organisational efficiency.

Andy Cowell will take on a new role as Chief Strategy Officer, using his unique experience to help optimise the technical partnership between the Team, Honda, Aramco and Valvoline.

Adrian Newey will take on the role of Team Principal from 2026 and will be guiding the technical team, including the trackside operations of the car.
Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman, addressed the team at AMRTC today."

Find out more: https://www.astonmartinf1.com/.../aston-martin-ara...

[Import]

I can see that…gotta try something…

[Jon39]

Emilio Largo said:

Andy Cowell will take on a new role as Chief Strategy Officer, using his unique experience to help optimise the technical partnership between the Team, Honda, Aramco and Valvoline.

If he is the Chief, then how many Strategy Officers does he supervise?
Change a light bulb comes to mind. -
Surely LS must have explained the strategy, at the outset of his project.

These days requires £billions and thousands of employees, just to get 2 cars on to the starting grid.
Aston Martin have not yet beaten Ferrari in the Championship.

Some of you will remember Ken Tyrell.
What an extreme contrast.
His F1 team became world champions, beating Ferrari.
With just a handful of skilled employees working in a wooden shed at West Horsley, they conquered the world.

Edited by Jon39 on Thursday 27th November 09:14

[skyebear]

Emilio Largo said:

"Andy Cowell and Adrian Newey have agreed to divide their responsibilities in order to focus on their individual strengths and expertise, ensuring organisational efficiency."

"Agreed" in the same way Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael agreed to split up Wham!.

[Jon39]

I found another photograph, so here is a quiz question for your friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Which one of these two Formua One racing teams became World Champions ?

[scampbird]

Not sure what your point is Jon, back then the garagistas ruled, much to Enzo's annoyance. Times are different. We even had a British owned car industry back then.

[Simpo Two]

I had to look that up...https://www.dive-bomb.com/article/the-golden-age-of-innovation-how-the-garagistes-changed-the-face-of-formula-1

[Jon39]

scampbird said:

Not sure what your point is Jon ...

The enormous change that has taken place over 50 years.

The activity continues to involve each team having two cars and for them being driven as fast as possible, to reach the chequered flag.
Some suggest that what was a dangerous sport, has now turned into business and entertainment.

These days, I find the Goodwood Revival and Members Meetings to be far more enjoyable to watch than F1.
Drivers constantly correcting for loss of grip and a huge variety of different cars competing against each other.
A Mini Cooper S overtaking a Ford Galaxie through a corner, then being overtaken along a straight, is good fun for all and done without the artificial need to open any rear wings.

Very good of Lord March to provide free livestream coverage, for those who cannot attend.

[scampbird]

I think we're just getting old. I'm not too fond of what F1 has become either. But the days when a Ken Tyrell could come along and shake up the establishment are long gone - the cars basic design is so locked down now, for one thing.

[Jon39]

scampbird said:

I think we're just getting old. I'm not too fond of what F1 has become either. But the days when a Ken Tyrell could come along and shake up the establishment are long gone - the cars basic design is so locked down now, for one thing.

No more surprises these days.

Do you remember when Ken Tyrell invited the press to a new car unveiling, at a hotel near Heathrow.
Under the cloth cover were dummy structures to represent conventional front wheels.

The whole project had been undertaken in strict secrecy.
The cover was slowly drawn away and Wow!, the car has 6 wheels.
That 6 wheeler did win a grand prix.

I cannot remember whether the car was banned, or perhaps very restricted small front tyre availability became a problem.
That was certainly an innovation where the concept was, smaller front wheels presenting reduced front wind resistance.

[Simpo Two]

Jon39 said:

That was certainly an innovation where the concept was, smaller front wheels presenting reduced front wind resistance.

And extra front-end grip perhaps.

I suppose that the more and more rules you add to a sport, the more the cars all evolve into the same thing.

[Davil]

Ah this forum. Such a positive corner of the world.

We have an Aston Martin F1 team along with the best designer of all time whose work will be first seen next year for the 2026 season.

I think that’s rather great and will be attending Melbourne, the first race, in the Aston Martin suite.

For now, this weekend I will be very much enjoying the finale to one of the closest seasons in recent memory. I hope Oscar wins but that’s very much against the odds but not impossible.

[LTP]

Davil said:

Ah this forum. Such a positive corner of the world.

We have an Aston Martin F1 team along with the best designer of all time whose work will be first seen next year for the 2026 season.

I think that s rather great and will be attending Melbourne, the first race, in the Aston Martin suite.

For now, this weekend I will be very much enjoying the finale to one of the closest seasons in recent memory. I hope Oscar wins but that s very much against the odds but not impossible.

The issue, for me at least, is we don't have an F1 team. We have a Force India/Racing Point team, bought by Laurence Stroll, who happens to be Chairman of AML, and who persuaded (by some means) the board of the company he chairs to pay him millions of pounds per year to put its name on the side of his racing team's cars because doing that enabled him to attract much more sponsorship to his team.

And, to continue round this positive corner, the Aston Martin F1 team (or Stroll Racing) exists purely to give his middle-of-the-road racing driver son a seat in F1 that he could never have got on merit. The aspiration of making the team a constructor's championship winner is highly unlikely while his son is in one of the cars and, once his son realises that and decides to spend his dad's wealth in some other way, Laurence will sell the team - any profit being his and not AML's. To fund all of this AML, seriously short of cash, had to close its actual works team running Vantages in GT sports cars.

I don't know whether the glamour of F1 under Liberty has attracted so many new customers to the brand it makes the millions it costs for AML to be on the side of Stroll's car (and to supply the medical and safety cars) worth the expenditure, but the sales and the finances suggest not.

Not only all of the above, but for 2026 I read that the Aston Martin F1 team is going to be a Works Team:
The team is transitioning from relying on customer Mercedes engines to a fully integrated, works partnership with Honda for the 2026 Power Unit. The team is collaborating closely with Honda, Aramco, and Valvoline on the new power unit, sustainable fuels, and chassis development
so does this mean that the team is effectively a Honda works team in 2026? Because I saw no mention of Aston Martin in that.

[RichB]

Jon39 said:

<clip> Some of you will remember Ken Tyrell. What an extreme contrast.
His F1 team became world champions, beating Ferrari. With just a handful of skilled employees working in a wooden shed at West Horsley, they conquered the world.

I had a pleasant day looking around his woodsheds back when Martin Brundle was driving for them.

[RDMcG]

As long as Lance Stroll remains they will only have a maximum of one competent driver so the team will be challenged going forward.