Aston Martin Ends Christian Horner Rumors and Names Adrian Newey as 2026 Team Principal

Aston Martin ended the rumors of Christian Horner considering a move very quickly and appointed Adrian Newey to lead the team in 2026.

Aston Martin Ends Christian Horner Rumors and Names Adrian Newey as 2026 Team Principal

Adrian Newey and Christian Horner (images via F1)

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Aston Martin is undergoing a phase of multiple massive changes in the squad. The team recently acquired aero-genius Adrian Newey after he left Red Bull during their challenging times. Now, the Silverstone-based squad replaced their previous team principal, Andy Cowell, amid failing results.

As such, this opened up rumors of Christian Horner signing for Aston Martin in 2026. However, the team has rubbished these rumors and announced the person who will take Cowell’s role in 2026. Aston Martin suffered from a drastic performance drop from 2023 to the present. Fernando Alonso has failed to achieve his highly sought-after 33rd win in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Notably, the Silverstone-based constructor has replaced their third principal in the past three years, starting from Otmar Szafnauer, Mike Krack, and now Andy Cowell. As such, Adrian Newey will be the fourth team principal for the green squad in just four years.

Following Andy Cowell’s replacement, rumors opened up about Christian Horner being the prime candidate to replace the outgoing team principal. The Briton who wanted more than just a leadership position might have fit in well at Aston Martin. However, his entry might have clashed with Adrian Newey’s ideology as the latter had a sour relationship with Horner.

Regardless, the aero-genius Adrian Newey, who is known for crafting exceptional challengers, will now lead a team after being in the sport since the 1988 season. Though Newey does not have direct experience of leading an outfit, his extended resume will certainly cover for his shortcomings in other sectors. It will be very exciting to witness what comes next for Silverstone as they steer through a very challenging period in Formula 1.

Adrian Newey ‘looking forward’ to taking an additional role at Aston Martin

Adrian Newey did not directly work on the 2025 challenger for Aston Martin, as the team definitely paid the price for this in terms of performance. The upcoming season will be the first for them where they will work directly under Newey’s designed masterpiece in Formula 1. Moreover, Honda will provide the power units for the team, as the 66-year-old’s past work with the Japanese giant will surely be beneficial.

Andy Cowell and Adrian Newey (via F1)
Andy Cowell and Adrian Newey (via F1)

Speaking about the upcoming season for Aston Martin, Adrian Newey noted that he was looking forward to taking on the additional role within the team. Further, he asserted that he witnessed some great talent within the team that could take them to great heights.

Newey accepted that the new regulations of the 2026 season could provide some challenges to the constructor. Regardless, the aerogenius is known to have an exceptional understanding of new regulations and hence will get up to speed very quickly.

Over the last nine months, I have seen great individual talent within our team, 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.

Adrian Newey said in an Aston Martin press release

Certainly, it will be exciting to witness how the Fernando Alonso-Adrian Newey pair matches up to the massive expectations laid on them by the fans of the sport. Alonso is one of the greatest drivers to exist in the pinnacle of motorsport, and this partnership will help the team achieve nothing but success. However, it will surely be a long road to domination, but everyone’s here for it and will eagerly wait for the 2026 season as multiple teams seem to have an upper hand in the new regulations.

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