Investigation uncovers Adrian Newey Aston Martin ownership details

Full details of Adrian Newey’s ownership stake in the Aston Martin Formula 1 team have come to light.

A PlanetF1.com investigation has revealed both exactly how much of the team Newey holds, the power and rights associated with his stake, and just how the legendary designer can cash out.

Adrian Newey Aston Martin ownership details uncovered

Newey joined Aston Martin shortly after the start of the F1 2025 season, with much of his attention focused on the development of the all-new AMR26.

His arrival in Silverstone ended a two-decade stint with Red Bull, during which he designed championship-winning cars for Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, establishing the operation as a legitimate F1 front-runner.

It followed similarly successful stints with McLaren and Williams where Newey established himself as one of the preeminent designers in contemporary Formula 1 – and arguably its seven-decade history.

His arrival at Aston Martin therefore signalled more than the signing of a senior technical figure; he legitimised figurehead Lawrence Stroll’s ambitions to transform the operation into world championship contenders.

That point was reinforced by Newey taking on a shareholding in the team, ensuring his role was more significant than that of a standard employee, with a personal stake in the team’s success and growth.

Specifics of Newey’s shareholding have never been formally announced; however, PlanetF1.com has uncovered details of his interests in the operation, revealing that Newey holds an approximate 4.7% slice of the team through an alphabet shareholding.

An alphabet shareholding describes the type of shares owned by an individual, with different rights assigned to each class, and how they are paid out in some situations.

In Newey’s case, he holds 17,287 Ordinary D Shares. According to Aston Martin’s articles of association, these shares are effectively employee incentive shares and appear to be exclusive to Newey’s holding. Another class of shares exists for other senior management incentives (Ordinary C Shares).

While there are voting rights associated with those Ordinary D Shares, there are no additional powers or rights that some other shareholders, such as Woody Johnson, have.

Johnson’s investment in the operation formally gives him just over 1% ownership according to current company documents. However, PlanetF1.com believes Johnson’s slice is more significant than that, with his true holding likely masked by lagging paperwork or through offshore holding companies (such as becoming an investor in a holding company, such as Racing Point UK). Sources have suggested Johnson’s investment could be worth in the region of $500 million, while the Ordinary Shares he holds afford him the right to appoint one board member (provided certain ownership conditions are met).

That holding, while less than a quarter of Newey’s stake, affords Johnson rights that Newey’s doesn’t; the Brit cannot make board appointments, for instance, and is further down the waterfall in terms of payouts should the company face financial trouble.

At current market rates, Newey’s slice is worth in the region of $159.8 million based on the current $3.4 billion valuation of the Aston Martin Formula 1 team. However, much of that has not been realised and cannot be accessed in the short term.

Conditions attached to Newey’s holding outline how the 67-year-old can cash in on his holding.

There are two primary means by which Newey can exit; however, neither can be exercised until March 2030 (unless Stroll sells out of the squad, in which case Newey’s shares hold tag-along rights, allowing him to divest early).

If Newey exercises his option between March and September 2030, his payout formula is pegged at 62.35% of the benchmark share valuation set prior to March 2025. While permitted to sell to a third-party, any open-market sale is subject to board approval and pre-emption rights. However, if approved and a buyer is identified, Newey could unlock 100% of the market value of the shares. Based on a $3.5 billion market valuation, Newey’s slice is currently effectively worth $102.6 million.

However, should Newey elect to leave the team ahead of March 2030, he would forfeit his holding, and his 4.7% would be transferred back to Aston Martin at the lower of fair or original subscription prices.

As Newey paid a nominal £1.00 per share, should he be deemed a ‘bad leaver’ under the articles of association, his shares will revert to the team at the value he originally paid for them, or fair market value – whichever is lower.

At its current valuation, that equates to a potential loss of around $164 million, though that sum is likely to grow as the value of the team increases, driven both by market conditions but also the team’s own performance. The latter point incentivises Newey to push the squad forward, aligning his personal best interests directly with those of the team and Stroll.

Even with the divestment to Johnson, which PlanetF1.com understands came from the shares headed by Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian businessman retains control of the team despite not having an outright majority shareholding.

Stroll’s interests are managed through Racing Point UK, which holds around 27% of the team, while the total slice controlled by the billionaire equates to around 33% once the overarching Yew Tree Consortium is accounted for.

Crucially, that holding contains a mixture of Ordinary A and B shares and is defined as the Controlling Shareholder in the company’s Articles of Association, and will remain the case provided Racing Point UK maintains 15% or more of the total shares in the company. Stroll also holds 75% of voting rights, and the right to appoint and remove the majority of board members. Hence, while Stroll’s shareholding has reduced following the investment of Woody Johnson, he retains complete control of the organisation.

Beyond Stroll (Racing Point UK and Yew Tree Consortium), Johnson (Green Racer LLC), and Newey (Ocorian), there are a host of other shareholdings in the operation. That includes Arctos Partners (17.3%), HPS Investment Partners (11.3%), Saudi Arabia Sovereign Wealth Fund (PIF, 6.8%), among others.

In addition, there are a number of smaller investors, including senior and former staff. Andy Cowell and Enrico Cardile hold approximately $62 million worth of stock and $7.6 million respectively, while former chief technical officer, Andrew Green, has about $21 million worth of stock. Tom McCullough holds 0.02% of the organisation, equating to about $640,000 at current market value.

However, in the case of Cowell, Cardile, Green, and McCullough, their shares are part of an incentive pool. While there are rules governing how and when they can cash those out, their holdings are standard employer equity versus the five-year performance option structure associated with Newey.

Put another way, the concept of making Newey a shareholder in the team is not new nor even unique within Aston Martin. The difference is in the respective share classes and how they are held; unlike Cowell et al, Newey does not hold his on paper, and only becomes eligible for them in March 2030.

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It may also go some way to explain the protracted saga surrounding Cowell, whose 1.82% stake is worth in the region of $62 million. Should he leave before a defined point in his contract, or without a negotiated ‘good leaver’ classification, he would essentially forfeit the lot.

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