Adrian Newey is about to step down from his team principal place on the Aston Martin Formula 1 team, the place he’ll get replaced by present Audi team boss Jonathan Wheatley.
Motorsport understands Newey will step down so as to focus completely on technical issues, as Aston Martin has skilled a greater than underwhelming begin to the 2026 F1 season. Power unit bother with new associate Honda means the Newey-designed AMR26 at the moment can’t full an entire race.
Wheatley has been working at Audi since final May alongside CEO Mattia Binotto however will due to this fact return to England after simply 10 months. The timing of the transfer is dependent upon his Audi contract.
Aston Martin’s Silverstone campus is situated simply 20 miles away from Red Bull’s F1 headquarters, the place Wheatley spent 20 years of his profession.
Jonathan Wheatley, Audi F1 Team Principal
Photo by: Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 by way of Getty Images
This alternative is engaging as Wheatley is about to be a part of at an especially tough time for Aston Martin – it could’t actually get any worse. At Audi, loved a sure diploma of autonomy, reporting instantly to the board, however coexisting with Binotto meant he didn’t have the identical leeway as usually afforded by the team principal position.
Wheatley could have been endorsed – if not prompt to proprietor Lawrence Stroll – by Newey himself, as they spent these 20 years collectively at Red Bull.
Newey’s promotion to the team principal position was introduced simply 4 months in the past and was efficient in 2026 solely, so it was short-lived; the present disaster solely made it tougher.
Now, what’s going to Audi’s technique be: trying to find a brand new team principal, or restructuring the squad internally and/or selling from inside?
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