Andy Cowell set to leave Aston Martin role as Adrian Newey steers F1 2026 direction

Andy Cowell, Aston Martin team boss and CEO, is set to depart his role with the Silverstone-based squad imminently.

Cowell returned to F1 with Aston Martin at the tail end of the F1 2024 season, but is understood to be departing the squad as part of Aston Martin’s refresh of organisation ahead of the F1 2026 season.

Andy Cowell set to depart Aston Martin team principal role

Cowell is expected to vacate his role ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, with sources indicating to PlanetF1.com that a change of direction at the team had been expected in the week after the Brazilian Grand Prix.

This would have coincided with the news that Lawrence Stroll’s squad is set to restructure its technical department as efforts to further refine its structure continue, with aerodynamics director Eric Blandin said to be one of the technical figures leaving the team.

There has been quite a bit of managerial change within the organisation over the past 18 months, with former technical lead Dan Fallows departing entirely after stepping back from the F1 team, as the team secured the services of former Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey in a particularly high-profile signature signing.

It’s believed that Cowell’s departure from his role can be linked to the commencement of Newey’s employment as managing technical partner, with the esteemed designer also being a shareholder within the organisation, putting him in a more powerful position in any intra-team disagreements.

Sources have indicated that Cowell and Newey were not fundamentally aligned on a wide range of design topics, as well as on the dynamics of their leadership structure. This may not be altogether surprising, given that Cowell’s background is in power units, while Newey’s is in aerodynamics and chassis packaging.

It’s been suggested that Cowell is set to move into a different area of responsibility within the Aston Martin organisation.

Cowell was the mastermind of the dominant hybrid Mercedes power units, which powered the Brackley-based team to multiple titles between 2014 and ’21, although Cowell himself opted to take a sabbatical from F1 in 2020.

He was tempted back into the sport by Stroll towards the end of 2024 in one of the Canadian businessman’s high-profile technical signings, with Stroll also securing Newey following his departure from Red Bull, and snaffling Enrico Cardile, Ferrari’s chassis technical director.

Both Newey and Cardile started work with Aston Martin this year, with the squad led by Cowell in his roles as team principal and CEO, who himself had made management changes by appointing himself as principal in place of Mike Krack, who was assigned to head up trackside operations.

With Newey and Cardile finding their feet at the head of the team’s technical structures in recent months, the senior management figures are understood to be shaping the team to optimise for the future, having identified shifting priorities and differing directions.

According to reports, former McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl could be a target to replace Cowell in the team principal role.

Former Red Bull boss Christian Horner is also available and is understood to be targeting a shareholding position in his next F1 challenge. The vacancy created by Cowell’s departure could be particularly tempting for the former Red Bull Racing CEO and team boss, with a position such as Cowell’s ticking some of the boxes.

Stroll, through his courting of Newey, showed a willingness to offer equity in his team to seal the deal, and the possibility of him offering the same to tempt Horner, if conversations progressed to that point, can’t be ruled out.

Such a move would reunite Horner with Honda power, as well as with long-time Red Bull colleague Newey, with the two men’s relationship understood to have been fully repaired this year, frequently socialising together with their families.

However, Horner is thought to be prioritising the establishment of a brand-new team, having secured significant financial backing from serious investors.

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When approached for comment, an Aston Martin spokesperson did not deny the possibility of Cowell’s departure.

“An Aston Martin Aramco spokesperson explained the team will not be engaging in rumour or speculation,” the statement said.

“The focus is on maximising performance in the remaining races and preparing for 2026.”

Separately, this week, the FIA confirmed to PlanetF1.com that its head of aero, Jason Somerville, is serving gardening leave ahead of an expected return to the grid. His destination is not yet known, but Somerville is not expected to be a replacement for the departing Blandin.

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