Brundle calls for ‘smart’ Adrian Newey defence as Aston Martin team principal
Adrian Newey is hard at work with Aston Martin
As part of a senior management reshuffle, Aston Martin made the eye-catching announcement that Adrian Newey will become the new team principal from F1 2026.
Newey is one of the most respected and recognisable figures in Formula 1, having established himself as a legendary designer. But, this will be his first experience of a team boss role, so racer and F1 commentator Alex Brundle is urging Aston Martin to be “smart” in “defending” Newey from the non-competition pressures of the role.
Adrian Newey to become Aston Martin team principal
As reported by PlanetF1.com last week, Andy Cowell was expected to move on from the Aston Martin team principal role. That was made official by the Silverstone-based squad on Wednesday, with Cowell to transition to the role of chief strategy officer. That will see him work closely with new engine partner Honda and other key allies.
The question of who would take over as team principal was answered instantly. Adrian Newey will fill the role from F1 2026.
Newey arrived at the team in March as managing technical partner and a team shareholder. The decision to switch the F1 design guru to team principal was described as a mutual “agreement” between Cowell and Newey, as Aston Martin strive to optimise both figures.
Newey has contributed to a total of 26 world championship wins across his illustrious career, while Cowell cemented his F1 legacy as the lead figure behind Mercedes’ dominant hybrid F1 power unit.
As Newey readies to become a team principal for the first time, Brundle has given Aston Martin some advice. As team principal, Newey will be the public face of Aston Martin F1, which brings with it all the ‘media/business’ commitments, as Brundle termed it.
Considering the fact that Aston Martin is targeting future F1 title glory, it means this is a team carrying particular intrigue going into the new regulatory cycle from F1 2026.
As such, Brundle believes that Aston Martin must ensure Newey is adequately shielded from all the noise that comes the way of a team principal.
“From a competition perspective, 100 per cent correct decision,” Brundle reacted on X to the Newey announcement.
“Put the guy who knows how to make the car go fast in charge. The mission critical part.
“The smart bit will be defending Adrian from the ‘media/business’ element of this role, so he’s not distracted from the core purpose.”
More on Adrian Newey from PlanetF1.com
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? Schumacher names ‘better choice’ for Aston Martin amidst Newey/Horner questions
Newey is “looking forward to” stepping up into the team principal role from 2026, as he continues work on designing their F1 2026 challenger to the new chassis and engine rules.
“Over the last nine months, I have seen great individual talent within our team,” he said.
“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.”
Aston Martin will retain the same driver line-up of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll for F1 2026.
Read next: Is Adrian Newey a Christian Horner stop-gap at Aston Martin?
