Aston Martin forced into 'emergency' Adrian Newey team boss change

Aston Martin were reportedly forced into making the 'emergency' change of appointing Adrian Newey as F1 team principal following alleged unrest within the squad's leadership.

Lawrence Stroll's F1 outfit made the shock announcement earlier this week that design legend Newey would be taking on the responsibilities of a team principal from 2026, in addition to his role as Managing Technical Partner.

The 66-year-old made the move to the Silverstone-based team after leaving Red Bull in 2024, and has kept a relatively low profile since in order to concentrate his efforts on developing a car for next season that gives Aston Martin a chance of challenging for wins.

Stroll's squad aim to be competing for championships as early as 2027, and the future contract of two-time champion Fernando Alonso seemingly depends on it.

The Spaniard admitted prior to Newey's appointment as team principal that if the car performs well, next year could be Alonso's final one in the sport.

But concerns over Newey's appointment at the team have been raised in recent days, with some experts within the paddock questioning if he will have enough time to concentrate on developing the car if he is also juggling the demands of being a team principal.

Stroll rushed Newey appointment claim foreign media

Newey will be Aston Martin's fourth team principal in as many years, following on from Otmar Szafnauer, Mike Krack and current boss Andy Cowell.

Speaking to Sky F1 at this weekend's Qatar GP, Newey himself confirmed he would be doing his best to stay away from media duties next season, only attending the races he had already planned to go to in 2026.

Now, Spanish sports newspaper Marca have reported that the decision to appoint Newey as team principal was made 'urgently' by Stroll, with the design guru and former team boss Krack set to share the responsibilities next season until a more permanent replacement is found.

Another rumour reported by the publication is that the announcement of Newey's arrival and Cowell's new position of strategy director was sudden.

The report claims that talks over Cowell's replacement began in Las Vegas last weekend, with rumours of 'a heated exchange' taking place between Cowell and Newey.

If these reports that Stroll is still hunting for a more permanent team principal prove true, this could provide ex-Red Bull boss Christian Horner with a way back into the sport, after it was reported that he was in the running for the position prior to Newey's appointment.

Horner is currently on gardening leave and would have been unable to accept the role even if it had been offered to him, but he could be well placed to make a comeback next season.

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