Lawrence Stroll thinks latest Aston Martin signing could now put team ‘on track’ to win a world championship

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Aston Martin has endured a tough start to the 2024 season having failed to deliver on their promising form last year.

The team was one of Red Bull’s closest challengers in 2023 having amassed eight podiums with Fernando Alonso, the most of any driver apart from Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

The comprehensive upgrade package brought to its AMR24 has not delivered the results they expected, leading to Technical Director Tom McCullough admitting they saw no difference in performance.

Team owner Lawrence Stroll has been working behind the scenes to provide the team with the technical resources to turn things around, having recently courted ex-Ferrari engineer Enrico Cardile. Now they have bolstered their expertise with another key signing who was key to Mercedes’ success in the hybrid era.

Ex-Mercedes engineer Andy Cowell joins Aston Martin as Group CEO

Former Mercedes High-Performance Powertrains (HPP) Managing Director, Andy Cowell, has joined the Silverstone-based outfit after leaving the Silver Arrows in the middle of 2020 after seven years.

Cowell replaces Martin Whitmarsh as Group CEO, who is expected to hand over all responsibilities by the end of the year. Stroll believes this latest signing to their technical team will be key to his ambitions of bringing championship success to Aston Martin.

“I am delighted to welcome Andy to our team at a crucial time,” said Stroll in their press release announcement.

“Together with our works partnership with Honda, the commitment from our title partner Aramco and Andy’s leadership, we are on track to become a world championship-winning team.

“Andy has my full backing and will have every resource available to win.”

Important signing for Aston Martin ahead of Honda switch

It is a significant signing for Aston Martin as they switch to Honda power units in the 2026 season, effectively turning them into a works outfit for the Japanese engine-maker.

Cowell joined Mercedes under their original ‘Stewart Grand Prix’ guise in 1999 when they raced with Cosworth engines. He would later be part of projects at BMW-Williams and Mercedes-Ilmor, before joining Mercedes HPP in 2008 where he was responsible for engine projects including the Kinetic Energy Recovery System which made its race debut in 2009 with McLaren.

After working his way up to becoming the head of Mercedes HPP in 2013, he played a crucial role in developing one of the most successful V6 power units of the hybrid-turbo era. Under Cowell’s leadership, the division won 12 world titles in six years between both Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships with Mercedes.

Their 2017 engine achieved conversion efficiency of more than 50% during dyno testing at their headquarters in Brixworth, UK, making it the most efficient racing engine ever made.

He is the latest former Mercedes engineer to join the team, having also brought in Bob Bell to their Technical, Engineering and Performance structure.