Aston Martin have gone through a major structural overhaul over the past year. They have changed several of their personnel, including their technical director, CEO, and the team principal. Former Mercedes man Andy Cowell joined the Silverstone outfit last October as the Group CEO. Now he is also taking over as their new team principal, replacing Mike Krack.
Krack will still remain with the team in a different role as Chief Trackside Officer. Meanwhile, a lot is expected of Cowell, who may be as critical to Aston Martin‘s success as their new incoming Managing Technical Partner, Adrian Newey.
“He is a hot property and Aston Martin have done well by getting him,” Samarth Kanal said on The Race F1 podcast. “We talk about (Adrian) Newey all the time but Andy Cowell is really up there in terms of organizational prowess”.
BREAKING: Aston Martin have appointed Andy Cowell as team principal after demoting Mike Krack from the role in an organisational restructure pic.twitter.com/0Z596ZHQdz
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) January 10, 2025
Kanal further explained how Cowell is a “natural leader”, who played an “instrumental” role in helping Mercedes win both championships for six consecutive years during the turbo-hybrid era. Similarly, Newey has often received immense credit for helping all major teams he has worked at to win multiple championships.
After enabling Williams to dominate the 1990s with his car designs, the Briton also brought championship glory back to McLaren in 1998-99. While his aggressive design concepts did not yield results later in the early 2000s at Woking, Newey shifted base to Red Bull and made them a dominant champion outfit despite them being an inexperienced team.
Aston Martin is also counting on the former Red Bull CTO’s aerodynamic brilliance to attain championship success, which they have coveted for several years. But on the operational and engine side, Cowell‘s expertise will be key.
How will Cowell aid Newey’s brilliance at Aston Martin?
Kanal expects Cowell to help streamline the processes at Aston Martin and get everything in order, so that the team can mount a challenge for the championship in 2026 when the regulations change and new engines come into play. Cowell is also committed to doing everything he can to help Aston Martin reach the top of the pecking order in ’26.
“With the completion of the AMR Technology Campus and our transition in 2026 to a full works team, alongside our strategic partners Honda and Aramco, we are on a journey to becoming a Championship-winning team,” the 55-year-old said in an interview after being confirmed as Aston Martin’s new team principal.
Back in September, The Race reported that Cowell will be working closely with former Alpine man Bob Bell, who has joined Aston’s leadership structure as executive director. Bell has extensive experience in setting up an F1 team’s infrastructure, and he will basically act as Cowell’s right-hand man to elevate Aston Martin’s operational and developmental abilities.
Along with brilliant technical and managerial leadership, the Silverstone outfit also have a two-time champion in Fernando Alonso, a state-of-the-art wind tunnel, and other facilities that make it seem like they have all the ingredients to achieve success in the future. Now, only time will tell if they do.
