Have to say I agree with Tom . Lewis speaks from the heart and that was only published 8 hours before you posted it . . I saw an article earlier this year where he said he was looking forwards to 2026 , as he felt the team valued his input into the development of next years car .
That’s very true . I do wonder why they signed him . I don’t think Fred had any say in it and Elkann wanted him for the image ( PR ) he would bring and Lewis was probably fed the team leader stuff , and combined with the “ Magnificent History and pull of THE team “ ( not my opinion ) , he fell in love . + the huge pay ( think I read his minimum is more than Charles maximum ) , + the fact he’s a bit of a romantic , this all lead to him signing . He also seems to have struggled massively to adapt to some simple ( are they ? ) but vital operating methods . Communications , how the steering wheel functions are set up .
Twenty years ago today , this man died from a Brain Tumour . He was 34 . Four years to the day after winning the World Rally Championship . Richard Burns .
Adrian Newey: Aston Martin name legendary designer as new F1 team principal from 2026 season replacing Andy Cowell Aston Martin confirm 2026 leadership restructure with Adrian Newey to combine his existing managing technical partner role with team principal responsibilities; Andy Cowell, who joined in 2024 after great engine success at Mercedes, to take on newly-created chief strategy officer role 26/11/2025 5:09pm please log in to view this image Image:Adrian Newey will become an F1 team principal for the first time Adrian Newey will become Aston Martin's team principal from the 2026 Formula 1 season with Andy Cowell taking on a new role at the outfit. Newey will combine the job with the managing technical partner role he has held since joining the team from Red Bull earlier this year. It will be the first time that Newey, F1's most legendary and successful car designer, has held the role of team principal. Cowell, who took over the team boss role from Mike Krack at the start of this year, will take on the new role of chief strategy officer ahead of the first season of Aston Martin's engine partnership with Honda. Former Mercedes engine guru Cowell first joined Aston Martin in 2024 as chief executive officer before adding responsibility for day-to-day control of the team ahead of this season too. "Over the last nine months, I have seen great individual talent within our team," said Newey. "I'm looking forward to taking on this additional role as we put ourselves in the best possible position to compete in 2026, where we will face an entirely new position with Aston Martin now a works team combined with the considerable challenge faced by the new regulations. "Andy's new role, focusing on the integration of the new PU with our three key partners, will be pivotal in this journey." Cowell said: "Having implemented much needed structural changes as we transition to a full works team and set the foundations for Adrian and the wider organisation, it is an appropriate time for me to take a different role as chief strategy officer. "In this role, I will help to optimise the technical partnership between the Team, Honda, Aramco and Valvoline and to ensure the seamless integration of the Team's new PU, fuel and chassis."
Weird one for me. For all Adrian’s genius, he’s no leader of people. Strikes me as someone who would rather other people didn’t exist, so he could design stuff without any pesky interruptions.
I agree . Supremely confident in his own ability’s and rightly so . Has never seemed comfortable in front of people / press etc .
