Aston Martin co-owner Lawrence Stroll has addressed reports that Adrian Newey will no longer be team principal.
Sky Sports News understands that Aston Martin is interested in hiring former Audi boss Jonathan Wheatley as team principal, allowing Newey to prioritize vehicle development in his role as managing technical partner.
Wheatley left Audi with immediate effect on Friday, with the team citing “personal reasons”, while Newey has been Aston Martin team principal since early 2026.
“As executive chairman and controlling shareholder, I would like to reaffirm that Adrian Newey is my partner and important shareholder,” Stroll, who is co-owner of Aston Martin, said in a rare public statement.
“He is the Managing Technical Partner of AMR, and he and I have a true partnership based on our shared vision of the company’s success.
“We do things differently here. We currently don’t have the traditional team principal role that you see elsewhere, but that’s by design.”
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Adrian Newey explains how vibration and battery issues are affecting Aston Martin
It’s been a nightmare start to the season for Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll yet to see the checkered flag in F1’s opening two races. Alonso revealed that he was unable to complete his final race in China due to severe vibrations from his Honda’s engine.
If Aston Martin hires a new team principal, it will free up F1’s most successful designer to focus on the car’s performance issues.
Sky Sports News understands that Aston Martin has identified other potential team principal candidates, including Max Verstappen’s engineer Giampiero Lambiase. Lambiase was approached but decided to stay with Red Bull, and former McLaren manager Andreas Seidl is not a candidate.
Wheatley’s sudden departure from Audi on Friday will add to the buzz about the former Red Bull sporting director joining Aston Martin. Lawrence Stroll has revealed that the team has been approached by other F1 players to join the Silverstone-based outfit.
Jonathan Wheatley leaves Audi after less than a year
“As the most successful engineer in the history of the sport, Adrian is primarily focused on strategic and technical leadership, where he excels,” he continued.
“He is supported by a highly skilled senior leadership team to execute all aspects of the business both on campus and trackside.
“We are regularly approached by executives from other teams who wish to join Aston Martin Aramco, but in line with our policy we do not comment on rumors or speculation.”
What happened to Aston Martin?
With the presence of Newey and Honda as a new engine supplier, there were high hopes for Aston Martin this year.
However, during pre-season testing, it became clear that the team was at a disadvantage as Aston Martin was late to the Barcelona Shakedown in January and then completed the fewest laps in the two Bahrain tests.
Alonso and Stroll were unable to complete a full race simulation and clearly lacked speed compared to most of the field, with the exception of newcomer Cadillac.
Ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Newey addressed the media and revealed that vibrations caused by Honda’s power units could cause permanent nerve damage to drivers.
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Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso have responded to Adrian Newey’s concerns that Aston Martin’s vibration problems could cause “permanent nerve damage”.
Honda executive Koji Watanabe acknowledged that, along with concerns for drivers, Honda is unable to operate its power unit at full capacity due to vibration issues.
Newey also admitted that he was unaware of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen’s inexperience at Honda compared to the championship-winning team that helped him win the 2021 Drivers’ Championship.
“Lawrence (Strol), Andy Cowell and myself finally realized that when we went to Tokyo and talked about it, because there were rumors starting to circulate that our original power target might not be achievable for Race 1,” Newey said.
“This resulted in the fact that many of our original employees did not return when we reopened.”
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Fernando Alonso talks about Adrian Newey’s influence on Aston Martin
Stroll did not participate in qualifying, while Alonso was eliminated in Q1, and neither driver subsequently completed the Australian Grand Prix.
A week later in China, a similar story unfolded, with Stroll and Alonso eliminated in the sprint qualifying and the first half of qualifying.
Stroll stopped at the first corner after nine laps, and Alonso stopped due to heavy vibrations in his car, resulting in fewer laps than in Australia.
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Despite the car’s obvious problems, Fernando Alonso is confident Aston Martin will solve them and improve.
“There was too much vibration compared to the other sessions over the weekend. I felt like I was at my limit,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“If we were fighting for something, you would hold my eyes and my hands. But I started losing feeling in my hands. It doesn’t feel good.”
Aston Martin’s engine supplier, Honda, is preparing for its home event, the Japanese Grand Prix, next weekend, and the team’s performance will be in the spotlight even more.
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