Adrian Newey knew he wasn’t cut out to lead Aston Martin before managing a single race

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Adrian Newey was looking for a successor before he’d even started his role as Aston Martin team principal, according to a report. Newey is expected to give up the role in the coming months.

Last November, Aston Martin made the surprise announcement that Newey would become the team boss from the start of 2026, taking over from the demoted Andy Cowell. Newey is one of the most respected engineers in Formula 1 but he has never held a role of this nature.

And now, just two races into the experiment, it’s universally believed that Aston Martin are lining up Jonathan Wheatley, who has just left Audi, to replace Newey once he has completed a period of gardening leave.

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

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Adrian Newey first approached Jonathan Wheatley in ‘late 2025’

According to Planet F1, Newey has personally approached ‘several candidates’ to assume team principal responsibilities, freeing him up to focus solely on car design. Aston Martin were linked with Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull engineer, and Newey may have been pushing for that move.

Newey’s professional relationship with Wheatley dates back even further, all the way to 2006. It’s said that he approached the former Red Bull sporting director in ‘late 2025’.

‘Top-level sources’ were aware that contact had been made during pre-season testing in Bahrain, even before Newey had officially overseen his first race in charge in Australia.

• READ MORE: Zak Brown warned Aston Martin about appointing Adrian Newey when he first became team principal

The message from Aston Martin since last week’s Wheatley bombshell is that Newey was only ever seen as a short-term appointment, but that raises questions in itself.

Indeed, contrasting reports claim Stroll only realised Newey wasn’t suited to the role in the past few weeks.

But even if the swift change was always the plan, Aston Martin must explain why they chose to enter a critical period – the start of a new rules cycle and an engine partnership with Honda – with a temporary, ill-equipped leader in place.

Aston Martin aren’t the only F1 team who have shown interest in Jonathan Wheatley

Despite only starting at Audi last year – his first team principal gig – Wheatley has already attracted interest from multiple teams.

Planet F1 reveal that, in addition to Aston Martin, there are ‘whispers’ that Alpine’s Flavio Briatore is keen on Wheatley. The two worked together at Renault and forerunners Benetton.

Wheatley was a mechanic at that stage but now has experience, albeit brief, of overseeing a full team on a day-to-day basis.

The threat of a reunion with Briatore seems to have receded, clearing the way for Aston Martin to get a deal done. No formal agreement has been reached yet.