Aston Martin must learn from Zak Brown’s approach at McLaren to solve 2026 crisis

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Aston Martin were backed as title contenders in 2026, but instead, the team are in absolute crisis at the back of the grid. They desperately need an uplift, and if there’s anyone to look to for inspiration, it’s Zak Brown.

Lawrence Stroll has pumped untold amounts of money to try to turn Aston Martin into a frontrunning team. Recruiting the likes of Adrian Newey and Enrico Cardile, as well as bringing Honda back to F1 and investing heavily in facilities, the team had what they needed.

But the start to the 2026 season has been nothing short of disastrous. They have yet to finish a Grand Prix as Honda’s desperately underpowered engine and the AMR26 vibrations make the car impossible to drive.

Two races into the season, and changes are already afoot, as Jonathan Wheatley is set to leave Audi and become Aston Martin’s team principal after a period of gardening leave. He is replacing Newey, who has only been in the role since the start of 2026.

The 67-year-old was ultimately given too much responsibility, with Stroll admitting that appointing Newey as team principal was a mistake. That has become abundantly clear as 2026 has gone on.

Newey is shifting the blame to Honda for Aston Martin’s woes this year, bashing the manufacturer for the engine’s issues. But there lies the problem in Silverstone: the blame culture is weighing them down, and it is something that Brown eradicated at McLaren.

READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Aston Martin must get rid of their blame culture, like Zak Brown did at McLaren

When Brown came to Woking in late 2016, he inherited a desperately unmotivated team that was struggling on the track and on the brink of administration, as they could not find adequate sponsorship.

There was a clear blame culture at McLaren when Brown arrived, which he looked to quickly address. He wanted to bring the team together in a strong working environment, and now, they are the defending F1 champions.

Brown deserves huge credit for McLaren’s resurgence, having gone from the back of the grid at the start of 2023 to two-time defending constructors’ champions and the defending drivers’ champions in 2026. Things are very different at Aston Martin.

Is Jonathan Wheatley the right man to get Aston Martin back on track in 2026?

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As per The Times, one of Brown’s first moves at McLaren was to ‘eradicate the blame culture holding them back’. But their rivals have found it ‘too easy to point fingers’, which is evidenced by the number of changes to the team principal role in the past few months.

After Mike Krack left his post in 2025 after three years as team principal, his successor, Andy Cowell, lasted just a year, with Newey replacing him. Cowell and Newey clashed over the development of the AMR26 and the former was subsequently moved to Chief Strategy Officer.

But now, Newey has left his post after two rounds in 2026. If Aston Martin want any chance of success, they must rid themselves of the blame culture like McLaren and find stability behind the scenes.