Sky Sports News understands that Aston Martin is interested in hiring Audi boss Jonathan Wheatley as team principal to allow Adrian Newey to prioritize car development.
Newey, who joined Aston Martin from Red Bull in March last year but only became team principal earlier this year, is thought to have welcomed the possibility of Wheatley joining.
The legendary F1 designer will be freed up to focus on Aston Martin’s cars after a nightmare start to the season for the team. Newey’s position as Aston Martin team principal was always seen as an interim measure.
The new team principal will not diminish Newey’s position within the team and as managing technical partner, where the 67-year-old was first hired 12 months ago, so he will have full authority over all technical matters and will report solely to team owner Lawrence Stroll.
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.
If Wheatley becomes team principal, there will be no chance of Christian Horner joining Aston Martin.
Audi is likely to give Wheatley an extended period of gardening leave, and the recruitment process could take several months, so any deal is unlikely to be signed before next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Jonathan Wheatley is the current Audi team principal
It is not yet confirmed whether Newey will travel to Suzuka or instead oversee the design and manufacture of the upgrade at Aston Martin’s Silverstone factory, as he was not on site for last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.
Aston Martin said in a statement to Sky Sports News: “The team will not engage in media speculation regarding its senior leadership team. Adrian Newey will continue to lead the team as team principal and managing technical partner.”
Audi said in a statement: “We are aware of recent media reports. There is no official update from our side at this time and we do not comment on speculation.”
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Despite the car’s obvious problems, Fernando Alonso is confident Aston Martin will solve them and improve.
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.
Fernando Alonso and Lance 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.
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On the second day of testing in Bahrain, a red flag was brought out after Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin stopped on track.
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.
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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Despite the car’s obvious problems, Fernando Alonso is confident Aston Martin will solve them and improve.
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.
They completed a shorter lap than the Australians, as Stroll stopped at the first corner after nine laps and Alonso stopped due to severe vibrations in his car.
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Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso respond to Adrian Newey’s concerns that Aston Martin’s vibration problem could cause ‘permanent nerve damage’
“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.
F1 will next head to the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix from March 27-29, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
