Aston Martin announcement to remove Adrian Newey as F1 team boss 'coming soon'

Wheatley in Audi F1 jacket edited next to Newey in Aston Martin kit with a racing green background — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Aston Martin announcement to remove Adrian Newey as F1 team boss 'coming soon'

Aston Martin are expected to replace Adrian Newey as F1 team principal

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 11 May 2026 18:58 Updated: 11:28

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Adrian Newey's days at the helm of Aston Martin F1 team could be numbered if the rumours coming out of the Miami Grand Prix paddock are to be believed.

When Lawrence Stroll's F1 outfit announced the monumental signing of the design genius in September 2024, I doubt anyone at the Silverstone squad would have predicted that Newey would step into the role of team principal over a year later.

In November 2025, Aston Martin dropped a bombshell announcement confirming yet another leadership reshuffle that saw ex-F1 boss Andy Cowell move into the role of chief strategy officer, with Newey replacing him as team principal.

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With such a massive overhaul of regulations on the horizon, this took many by surprise considering that Newey already had enough on his plate as managing technical partner.

And those who questioned the decision were only proven right come the opening round of the 2026 campaign.

Should Newey be replaced as Aston Martin team principal?

After arriving late to pre-season testing, Newey's new F1 car got minimum track time, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll putting in the lowest lap count out of all 11 teams.

Struggles with the 2026 chassis and Aston Martin's new power unit providers Honda have persisted across the opening rounds of the year and it was only on the fourth race weekend in Miami last time out that both drivers actually managed to complete a full-length grand prix.

Understandably, this has led many critics to suggest the British engineer should be left to work on Aston Martin's technical woes with another more suitable replacement called in to take on the media-facing responsibilities of a team principal.

So, when Audi announced the premature exit of their team principal and Newey's former Red Bull colleague Jonathan Wheatley, it seemed the perfect replacement had been identified.

Nearly two months later however, Wheatley is yet to speak on his Audi exit which came about due to 'personal reasons', whilst Newey is still juggling an overwhelming amount of responsibility at Aston Martin.

But could that be about to change?

Wheatley talks ramp up in F1 paddock, claims insider

Having spent the Miami GP weekend in the F1 paddock earlier this month, Up to Speed podcast host Jolie Sharpe reported back to her co-hosts with gossip from the grid.

"There's much more chatter now about Wheatley," Sharpe revealed on a recent episode.

"You know, I think that that should be announced… to be the new team principal at Aston Martin. I think that's coming."

Pushed by co-host Will Buxton to give further details about when the change could come, Sharpe added: "A lot sooner. They really want that announcement to be made.

"There's also been talks that they're thinking that around race 14... they’re thinking they could get into Q2."

"So, the atmosphere and the energy there, I think, look, they're all used to it. They knew what was happening before the season started, and I think any improvement is a big bonus. And they've accepted it and it's not great."

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey Audi Jonathan Wheatley