Adrian Newey dispels one major fear critics had after taking Aston Martin top job

Adrian Newey insists his new role as Aston Martin team principal won’t compromise his time or focus on his F1 design work.

Earlier this weekend, Aston Martin made the shock announcement that Newey would take over from Andy Cowell as team principal for the 2026 F1 season.

Newey joined Aston Martin as their managing technical partner last year, spearheading their design team.

Widely regarded as F1’s greatest-ever car designer, Newey will have a key role in Aston Martin’s 2026 project.

Aston Martin have heavily recruited and invested over the years, with owner Lawrence Stroll targeting F1 world championship glory.

Cowell, who had taken over from Mike Krack as team principal at the start of the year, has been moved to a different role.

Cowell, the mastermind behind Mercedes’ V6 hybrid engine in 2014, will focus on Aston Martin’s collaboration with Honda from next year.

Given the significant rule changes coming in 2026, Cowell’s priority will now be on coordinating Aston Martin, Honda (PU supplier), and Aramco (fuel supplier).

Speaking after sprint qualifying in Qatar, Newey explained the reasons behind Aston Martin’s surprising change.

“To be perfectly honest, it became very evident that with the challenge of the 2026 PU then Andy’s skillset in terms of helping the three-way relationship between Honda, Aramco and ourselves is absolutely his skillset,” he explained to Sky Sports.

“He very magnanimously volunteered to be heavily involved in that for the first half of 2026 but that left ‘ok who’s going to be TP?’. Since I am going to be going to the early races anyway that doesn’t actually change my workload because I am there anyway so I may as well pick up that bit other than having to talk to you [Ted Kravitz].”

Newey dispels major fear

When Aston Martin announced Newey as team principal, there were concerns that he wouldn’t be able to focus on what he does best - designing fast F1 cars.

As team principal, Newey will be required to attend races, speak to the media, and take on other management duties.

Newey is confident that taking on the role won’t dilute his time as a design genius.

“That’s really what I want and need to do,” he added. “That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning. I am determined not to dilute that.”

Aston Martin enjoyed a strong sprint qualifying session in Qatar, with Fernando Alonso securing fourth on the grid for the sprint race.