Andy Cowell’s relationship with Adrian Newey ‘faded’ after the sacking of key Aston Martin ally

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Aston Martin are reportedly keen on moving forward without Andy Cowell as the team principal of the Formula 1 outfit due to his relationship with Adrian Newey fading in recent weeks.

Adrian Newey began work at Aston Martin ahead of the current campaign, following his high-profile exit from Red Bull.

The British design guru spent 19 years at the Austrian constructor, where he designed a multitude of championship-winning F1 cars.

Despite the success that Red Bull were experiencing at the time, Newey’s relationship with Christian Horner was the main reason for his departure from the team.

Horner downplayed the recent success of the team as being due to the designer’s expertise, as well as several other factors, which ultimately led to his eventual exit.

READ MORE: Aston Martin must not hire Christian Horner if what Adrian Newey has done behind the scenes is true

Andy Cowell was not happy with the recent sacking of Aston Martin’s head of aerodynamics, Eric Blandin

It emerged that Aston Martin are looking at sacking Andy Cowell following the conclusion of the most recent round of racing in Las Vegas.

The news came as a bit of a surprise, given that Cowell has been in the role now for just over a year. With Newey focusing entirely on the imminent regulation switch for 2026, the British constructor look to mount a serious challenge for the title next year.

In a recent report by Grada3, it seems like Newey’s rapport with his current team principal is the ‘main reason’ for why the Silverstone-based constructor are set on moving on with someone else in the leadership role.

The report states that team owner Lawrence Stroll has been allowing Newey to ‘assume almost total control’ of the day-to-day operations of the team, and a recent disagreement over the abrupt sacking of aerodynamic chief Eric Blandin led to tension between himself and Cowell.

The team principal reportedly had a good relationship with the Frenchman, who signed for Aston Martin from Mercedes in 2022, and was puzzled as to why a decision was made to dismiss him ahead of the new season.

The report goes on to mention how a power struggle between Cowell and Newey ensued, and the highly-rated designer was the man to emerge victorious.

The recent signing of former Ferrari man Enrico Cardile was seen as a move to keep Newey in check, but it is understood that he is still the one who is ‘calling the shots’ within their new state-of-the-art facility in Silverstone.

READ MORE: Damon Hill tells Aston Martin exactly why they can’t hire Christian Horner as team principal

Christian Horner has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Andy Cowell at Aston Martin

In light of the recent news that Aston Martin are looking for someone new to lead their charge into the new year, Horner’s name has appeared as a leading candidate.

Since his brutal exit from Red Bull after 20 years in charge, it’s clear that Horner is adamant that buying a stake in an F1 team is the only capacity in which he wants to return to the paddock.

Aston Martin had ‘no plans’ to hire Horner at the beginning of October, according to Cowell, but those plans have seemingly changed following the breakdown in his relationship with Newey.

If the Silverstone-based team, who are still on the hunt for their very first Grand Prix victory in the sport, pull the trigger on signing the former Red Bull team principal, it remains to be seen how well Horner and Newey will get on.

F1 fans think Aston Martin shouldn’t sign Horner for that exact reason. His previous spat with Newey could be rehashed in the new environment, despite reports suggesting that they have recently rekindled their former friendship.