F1 2026: Aston Martin's latest crisis calls for one man but there is a catch

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Aston Martin

Aston Martin's latest crisis calls for one man but there is a catch

Aston Martin have a leadership crisis and Adrian Newey cannot solve it alone

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Thursday 19 March 2026 12:55

A day doesn't seem to go by at the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season without a new Aston Martin crisis.

So far most of them have been related to the problematic Honda engine that is too slow, unreliable and is a bad fit for a car to the point it's forcing Fernando Alonso to retire from races because of the damage the car's vibrations are doing to his hands.

This is all quite unheard of in F1, and this includes days where teams would turn up for seasons with cars built in a garden shed. This is a multi-million pound team with a global name such as Aston Martin, James Bond's car nonetheless, and the employer of design genius Adrian Newey who has a GoldenEye for technical details.

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Aston Martin F1 are directionless

One problem that is being reported coming out of the team is something Honda cannot be blamed for and that is an apparent lack of leadership at Aston Martin, and this suddenly puts Newey's surprise appointment as team principal near the end of the 2025 into sharper focus.

At the time, no one could understand it. Why give the best technical mind in F1 added responsibilities on top of him trying to pen (or in Newey's case, pencil) another in a long list of superb F1 chassis.

It seems we are now getting the answer, he was Aston Martin's best person for the job. His vast F1 experience and a figure everyone could look up to in the team was unmatched. The issue is just because he was the best person available doesn't mean he was the best fit.

Newey shouldn't be running a team. All of his time should be devoted to designing cars, finding developments and fixing sub-optimal design flaws on a car like he has been doing for his whole career.

Aston Martin's F1 team principals

Since rebranding from Racing Point as Aston Martin in 2021, the Silverstone based outfit have never really got the team principal role correct. Otmar Szafnauer, a carry over from Racing Point, lasted a year before being replaced by Mike Krack.

Krack was in charge when the team produced a superb 2023 car which looked only slower than the dominating Red Bulls for the first half of the season, but was also in charge for their slide down the standings as multiple upgrades and developments failed.

Former Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell was next up at the start of 2025 but didn't see the season out before Newey stepped in.

Now the last thing a team needs when you have fires seemingly everywhere you turn is a lack of direction, and there doesn't seem to be anyone in Aston Martin who can look to the North Star and guide them out of trouble.

Certainly nobody internally, but there does happen to be an unemployed team principal who has bags of experience and world championship winning credentials, and he has worked with Newey for years too.

Pull the Christian Horner lever

Could Christian Horner come in to help Aston Martin

Basically, Christian Horner is available but this isn't a perfect fit for at least two reasons. Firstly, did Newey leave Red Bull two years ago in the first place because of the way Horner was running the team there? It doesn't seem like this would be a happy reunion.

The second reason is more on Horner himself. Horner has made no secret that should he return to F1, he would want to have some sort of ownership stake in a team, hence his links with the Alpine outfit where a minority stake is for sale.

So if he was to join Aston Martin, Lawrence Stroll may have to negotiate away some of the team to recruit him. He may not want to do that, but given the mess Aston Martin are in, he may have to.

Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

View full biography

F1 Christian Horner Aston Martin Adrian Newey Lawrence Stroll