The huge news coming into the 2025 Formula One Qatar Grand Prix, was that Aston Martin was to lose a third team principal in three seasons, with Andy Cowell being redeployed to manage the integration with Honda, Armco who will supply the bio fuel and Valvoline, the team’s lubricants partner.
This was the role he held at Mercedes as they geared up for the all new 2014 powertrains and indeed Cowell takes much of the credit for the team designing and building an all conquering power unit.
With Adrian Newey releasing a number of engineers prior to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, it was reported that tensions had grown between him and Cowell, who was supposed to have the final say as team principal.
Newey cuts off a challenge from Seidl
All the talk in Las Vegas was that the team were looking to recruit former team boss at McLaren, Andreas Seidl, yet the fact McLaren finally began to rise from the ashes following his departure left question marks over his leadership when in Woking.
Seidl then joined the all new Audi F1 project but he was accused of agitating internal politics with the Audi board and subsequently dismissed in June last year. Replacing him was ex-Ferrari boss Mario Binotto.
Reports have emerged from Aston Martin that Newey didn’t believe that Seidl was the right man for the job and so reluctantly put his hand up to team owner Lawrence Stroll, claiming the team boss role for himself. Yet the paddock consensus is that despite being one of the greatest F1 car designers of all time, Newey’s mild mannered and camera shy personality is not well suited to the role of team principal.
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Further, Adrian was appointed to head up all things technical in Silverstone and the additional responsibility of HR meetings, sessions with the PR teams together with balancing the cost cap financial decisions which need to be made, will lead to him being distracted from his primary role.
The BBC also reported that Newey had conducted a covert tour of the Silverstone HQ for Christian Horner the week, which set the rumour mill running that the ex-Red Bull boss is destined for Aston Martin.
His explanation in Qatar as to why he took the team principal role suggests it was nothing something Newey particularly coveted, creating the possibility that Horner is lined up for a leadership role at Aston Martin once his gardening leave is complete and any non-disclosure agreements as to his association with another team has expired.
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Newey explains why he took TP job
Post qualifying, Newey explained: ”To be perfectly honest, it became very evident that with the challenge of the ’26 PU, then, Andy’s skill set in terms of helping the three-way relationship between Honda, Aramco and ourselves, is absolutely his skill set.
“So he very magnanimously volunteered to be heavily involved in that through the first part of ’26. That left a kind of, OK, well, who’s going to be TP?
He added: “Since I’m going to be doing all the early races anyway, it doesn’t actually particularly change my workload because I’m there anyway. So I may as well pick up that bit other than, of course, having to talk to you.”
Newey’s explanation tacitly suggests that his role as team principal is an interim one he is happy to take on given he will be attending the early races to analysis the 2026 car package he and the rest of the engineers at Aston have designed.
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In conclusion he emphasised that the design aspect of the Formula One team is where he prefers to remain longer term and not be distracted by other aspects of the team principal role. “That’s really what I want to and need to do. That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning. So I’m determined not to dilute that.”
When asked on the Sprint Grid in Qatar as to whether he would be taking on responsibility for the HR, PR and finance functions, along with a whole host of media roles, Newey was candid stating: “I’ll try to minimise that.”
Lawrence Stroll is said to have attempted several times to recruit Horner since he bought the team and rebranded it to Aston Martin. When he addressed the factory o Wednesday to inform them of the resturtuere, one team member revealed he claimed, ‘Christian Horner isn’t joining the team’.
Yet the context of his comment was said to be in the ‘hear and now’, leaving open the option for him to finally recruit Horner in April 2026. It makes sense for Cowell to manage the PU, lubricants and fuel supplier integration with the team as he did this with great success for Mercedes pre-2014.
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Cowell’s redeployment a concern
Yet given there’s just four weeks (excluding the winter factories shutdown) between the chequered flag and the first test on 25th January in Barcelona, moving Cowell across to this role suggests something of a panic in Silverstone.
Much of the parts for the 2026 cars are now built or in late stage production and the al new Honda power until have been fired up during extensive bench testing. From herein the teams are tweaking the final arrangements for the 2026 cars, as MD Steve Neilson of Alpine revealed on Friday in Qatar.
The continuous changes of leadership at Silverstone has unsettled many of the employees as one revealed in Qatar. A report emerged that there view of an insider is that Aston Martin are “out of control” with too many chiefs calling the shots and muddying the waters.
Fernando Alonso qualified in his highest starting position this year in Qatar for the 19 lap Sprint race and is set to lead the team’s challenge in 2026 despite clocking up his 45th birthday.
More problems at Qatar see Losail’s grade one FIA license under threat
The Qatar Grand Prix has proved troublesome since its introduction to the Formula One calendar. Designed as a circuit for motor bike racing, the Losail venue was meant to be a temporary solution while the organisers built a purpose built F1 track.
The first event held in 2021, saw Lewis Hamilton claim the win, but four drivers suffered front left tyre failures whilst attempting one stop strategies during the Grand Prix. Pirelli had advised against this but these teams felt they were pushed into the strategy given the lack of pace their cars exhibited on the hardest set of compounds for the year.
After a year’s absence in 2022 due to the middle eastern state holding the FIFA world cup, F1 returned to Losail only to have further tyre trauma’s which required drastic action from the FIA….. READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
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