In the midst of a sporting crisis, Aston Martin is preparing a profound change in its structure. As it transpired, Adrian Newey will leave his role as team director to focus
exclusively on technical development.
The decision comes in a complex context for the British team, which failed to meet the expectations generated by the new technical regulations for the 2026 Formula 1 season. The poor performance of the AMR26, combined with track problems and internal tensions, forced the management to rethink sporty driving
.
As reported by several specialized media, Jonathan Wheatley emerges as the main candidate to take his place. The Briton, the current Audi team leader, would leave his position after less than a year to return to England and his landing, not yet official, will depend on contractual issues, although different versions indicate that
the agreement is advanced. Jonathan Wheatley is the leading candidate to replace Newey The manager has an extensive career in Red Bull Racing, where he worked for two decades and coincided with Newey.
That relationship could have been key to his choice, even as a direct recommendation from the engineer himself to the owner of the team, Lawrence Stroll, father of the current Lance Stroll driver.
The change also marks the end of Newey's brief stint as director. His appointment had been announced late last year as part of an ambitious restructuring, but the results did not go along. Problems in the pre-season tests, poor race performance and technical difficulties, including strong vibrations of the car, exposed the flaws of the project
.
In that scenario, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll suffered the consequences, with few laps on the track and abandonments in the first few dates of the calendar due to various problems with their cars.
Aston Martín has serious problems with its AMR26
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how Audi will respond to the possible departure of Wheatley and whether it will choose to seek a replacement or reorganize its internal structure. At Aston Martin, on the other hand, the bet is on an immediate steering wheel to get a project that started far short of
