'I've given up': Aston Martin Newey replacement saga leaves F1 star exhausted

The never-ending crisis at Aston Martin is one of the biggest storylines in F1 in 2026, and the subplot developing around Adrian Newey has left one Sky Sports pundit exhausted already.

The 67-year-old Newey remains team principal for now, but reports suggest that Jonathan Wheatley could take up that role in the future after his shocking departure from Audi just two races into 2026.

Wheatley's exit from Audi was announced between the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix, with the team's statement claiming he left for 'personal reasons'.

However, the announcement came amid reports that Wheatley was Aston Martin-bound, and would take on a leadership role there so that Newey could concentrate on developing the AMR26 further.

Aston Martin themselves released a statement from Lawrence Stroll, who refused to engage in any speculation and instead bolstered his belief in the structure of his team, including Newey's role as a leader.

This hasn't prevented ongoing whisperings about whether Wheatley will join Aston Martin though, and that was the major topic heading into the Japanese Grand Prix weekend at Suzuka.

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Chandhok: I've given up trying to guess

Speaking during Sky F1’s live broadcast on Friday at the Japanese GP, Natalie Pinkham asked how likely Jonathan Wheatley would be to go to Aston Martin.

Former F1 star turned pundit Karun Chandhok replied: "It depends who you talk to in this paddock, some people think it’s a done deal and other’s saying that’s not going to happen at all."

Asked who he believes, Chandhok added: "I’ve given up to be honest. It will just play out the way it does, I’ve given up trying to guess what will happen."

"It has to fit in with the structure of the whole team, what makes sense for the entire hierarchy, it’s not just because they’re friends or they got along in a previous job it doesn’t mean it’s the right answer, lots of people are friends in this paddock.

"I honestly think Aston have got a whole load of problems to deal with at the moment so they’ve got to decide, do they need to restructure the whole organisation?"

Bernie Collins then added: "I think Aston Martin has been quite volatile for the last little bit in terms of the people that they’ve had in certain positions there and all of that maybe has partially led to the situation that they’re in now so they can’t keep continuing to switch people around at the top and the sort of lack of direction.

"It’s pretty clear what they need to fix, is changing the TP going to do that? It’s not going to make the people at Honda work any quicker and everyone knows that they’re trying to get the car faster. Jonathan’s not going to be out of the paddock for long."

READ MORE: Audi F1 driver reacts to team boss departure: 'Oh s***!'

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