Christian Horner in ‘Aston Martin F1 meeting’ as Adrian Newey replacement speculation rages

Photo: © IMAGO

Aston Martin F1

Christian Horner in ‘Aston Martin meeting’ as Newey replacement speculation rages

Speculation rages about the top job at Aston Martin

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Thursday 19 March 2026 21:10 Updated: 22:20

Another hour, another update in the saga surrounding struggling F1 team Aston Martin as speculation rages about Adrian Newey’s role as team principal. Enter Christian Horner.

It has been a disastrous start to 2026 for the expensively-assembled squad, with the team suffering double DNFs in both races so far due to vibrations from the car’s Honda power unit.

Those vibrations leave drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll unable to complete a race as they fear permanent nerve damage from prolonged exposure to the car.

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This scenario has provided maximum embarrassment for billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll and team principal Newey.

Newey was originally hired as the sport’s foremost design genius to provide a chassis capable of challenging for championships. He was then handed the team principal role in November 2025.

Experts and insiders felt at the time that effectively giving Newey the job of designing the car AND running the team could be too much to handle. And this week speculation has been rife that the arrangement may not continue much longer.

Aston Martin 'looking for a new team principal'

At the start of the week we had DAZN Spain insider Antonio Lobato dropping the bombshell news that Aston Martin are now looking for a team principal. A move which would allow Newey to revert to his original planned role.

Since then there have been more reports putting forward potential team principal replacements, with current Audi chief (and Newey’s former Red Bull colleague) Jonathan Wheatley now the hot favourite.

However, according to respected BBC insider Andrew Benson, another former Newey Red Bull colleague is also a part of this story - namely the 52-year-old Horner.

Horner in 'Aston Martin meeting' - Benson

Sacked by Red Bull last summer, Horner is now believed to be looking to return to F1, and Benson is reporting that he met with Stroll Sr this week.

Benson though also reports the claim that Newey is opposed to Horner joining the team, and would prefer Wheatley as an acceptable alternative. Aston Martin are also reported to have approached Gianpiero Lambiase - long-time Red Bull race engineer for Max Verstappen.

According to Benson, an offer to Wheatley has been made but any official agreement and transfer could be some way off due to his contract with Audi.

Aston Martin, per several media outlets, are maintaining their position that they will not be entering into speculation, and that Newey remains in his position as team principal and managing technical partner.

Horner has also been linked with a move to Alpine, as part of a group of investors looking to buy a 24 percent stake in the team from Otro Capital. But that could be scuppered by Mercedes, which is in talks to buy the stake.

It is also noteworthy that Horner has said recently that returning merely as a team principal may not be his first choice. He has spoken of wanting a bigger role in any team he should join in the future.

F1 Christian Horner Aston Martin Adrian Newey Gianpiero Lambiase Jonathan Wheatley