Lawrence Stroll ‘sets the record straight’ on Adrian Newey’s future at Aston Martin

Follow us on Google Discover

Lawrence Stroll has released a statement in an attempt to ‘set the record straight’ on the rumours surrounding Adrian Newey.

After the Chinese Grand Prix, there had been speculation in the Formula 1 paddock that Adrian Newey might lose his role as team principal at Aston Martin.

The Silverstone-based squad have had a difficult start to the 2026 season, with issues from their Honda power unit slowing any progress from the start of pre-season.

There had been reports that Newey would be replaced as the team principal at Aston Martin by the current Audi team principal, Jonathan Wheatley. A theory that was strengthened when Audi announced that Wheatley would be leaving the team on the 20th of March.

Audi confirm Jonathan Wheatley’s exit – Who should take over as their team principal?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Lawrence Stroll released a statement regarding Adrian Newey

After the announcement from Audi that Wheatley would be leaving the team with immediate effect, Aston Martin released their own statement.

The statement came from Lawrence Stroll himself, who was attempting to ‘set the record straight’ regarding the Newey situation.

Stroll said, “With the current speculation surrounding Adrian Newey’s role in our team, I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight.

“As Executive Chairman and Controlling Shareholder, I would like to reaffirm that Adrian Newey is my partner and an important shareholder. He is AMR’s Managing Technical Partner, and he and I have a true partnership built on a shared vision of success for the company.

“We do things differently here, and while we don’t currently adopt the traditional Team Principal role that you see elsewhere – it is by design.

“As the most successful engineer ​in the history of the sport, Adrian’s primary focus is on the strategic and technical leadership where he excels. He is supported by a highly skilled Senior Leadership Team to deliver on all aspects of the business, both at the Campus and trackside.

“We are regularly approached by senior executives of other teams who wish to join Aston Martin Aramco, but in keeping with our policy, we do not comment on rumour and speculation.”