‘Caretaker’ Adrian Newey had ‘no desire’ to be Aston Martin team principal in the first place

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Adrian Newey never had a ‘desire’ to become the team principal at Aston Martin for the 2026 season.

Ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season, Aston Martin announced that Adrian Newey would become the team principal for the team after Andy Cowell stood down from the position.

This was the first time that Newey had held such a role during his time in Formula 1, and he was taking on roles that he did not want to hold for Aston Martin.

During the opening two Grands Prix of the 2026 season, Aston Martin failed to score points with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, which has seen a lot of pressure piled onto Newey.

It has now been rumoured that Newey will no longer hold the team principal role at Aston Martin, and will be replaced by Jonathan Wheatley.

How many F1 titles will Newey win at Aston Martin?

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Adrian Newey has been ‘effectively a caretaker’ at Aston Martin

In a recent report by Motorsport Magazine, it was revealed that Newey never wanted to become the team principal at Aston Martin, but was pushed into the role when Andy Cowell stepped down.

It has been believed that Newey has actually been in an acting role in the Aston Martin garage, and has been holding the spot until a new full-time team principal arrived to the team.

Motorsport Magazine reported – Newey had no desire to be team principal, a role which carries many time and energy-consuming non-technical responsibilities which are of little interest to him.

He was simply left holding the baby following Cowell’s decision and from that moment the search has been on for a new team principal, with Newey effectively a caretaker in that role for the time being.

If Aston Martin decide to replace Adrian Newey as team principal, who should they sign?

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Jonathan Wheatley appears set to arrive at Aston Martin

According to reports, Jonathan Wheatley is set to arrive at Aston Martin to become their new team principal, allowing Newey to return to a more technical role.

Wheatley stepped down from his role as team principal at Audi after arriving at the team, when they were Sauber in 2025, but differences between Wheatley and Mattia Binotto reportedly led to the separation.

However, Newey may need to remain in his role as team principal for a while longer, as Wheatley will have to be placed on gardening leave from Audi, but Wheatley may be able to take on the role later in the 2026 season.

Valkenburg said, “Wheatley could start very early on. If the gardening leave is enforced, I believe it could be all the way up to the Dutch Grand Prix, until he actually can start there.”