How Aston Martin is avoiding Adrian Newey clash with key Ferrari hire

Jamie Woodhouse 14 Oct 2025 12:30 PM

Adrian Newey pictured at the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix, with an Aston Martin badge on his right

Adrian Newey is hard at work with Aston Martin

Aston Martin has been putting the key puzzle pieces in place for what they hope will become a world championship-winning team in Formula 1. Adrian Newey and Enrico Cardile are two such puzzle pieces.

Critical contributors in the effort to transform Aston Martin into a Formula 1 force, CEO and team principal Andy Cowell explained how the roles of Newey and Cardile differ, meaning the pair work in harmony, rather than clash. With Newey very involved on the car design side of things, Cardile is focusing on the organisational side.

Adrian Newey and Enrico Cardile: An unstoppable Aston Martin force?

With new chassis and power unit regulations on the way for F1 2026, Aston Martin is a team chasing championship glory under the watch of owner Lawrence Stroll, who has made significant investments in areas such as a new factory and windtunnel.

There has also been high-profile recruits to transform Aston Martin’s leadership. Former Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell became CEO and team principal, while Newey – one of the greatest designers in Formula 1 history – was snapped up as managing technical partner and a team shareholder after leaving Red Bull.

Cardile meanwhile was brought in from Ferrari. The Scuderia’s former chassis technical director, Cardile took up the position of chief technical officer at Aston Martin. He began work in August.

Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Cowell was asked how the roles of Newey and Cardile are differentiated at Aston Martin.

He replied: “Adrian’s very much into the detailed design, you know, right from the beginning of March into regulation understanding, understanding the concepts that have been created, and then moving that on and focused heavily on the core architecture of the car, so the aspects of the car that you probably don’t want to change through a racing season.

“So that’s been his focus initially, and he’s heavily involved in detailed aero work, detailed mechanical work, suspension work, and you’ll see him both at his drawing board and at engineers’ CAD [Computer-Aided Design] screens.

“Enrico is looking at the organisation, looking at the growth and development of people, and how it all fits together, and how our innovation machine works, but also how the teamwork is optimised so that everybody’s playing their role at the right time.”