Aston Martin takes a gamble: Jonathan Wheatley (Audi) is set to replace Adrian Newey

With the start of the 2026 season shaping up to be particularly challenging for Aston Martin, the British team is already preparing to make a major change to its organization. Adrian Newey, who recently joined as team principal, is expected to step down from that role to focus exclusively on technical matters.

According to reports from the British media outlet Autosport, Jonathan Wheatley is tipped to replace him at the helm of the team. The official announcement could come in the next few days.

A disastrous start to the season for Aston Martin

The verdict is clear: the AMR26 is currently falling far short of expectations. The main issue is the very difficult integration of the new Honda engine, which is replacing Mercedes starting this season.

The problems are numerous:

• inability to complete a full race distance

• issues related to the powertrain

• significant high-frequency vibrations

• overall lack of performance

  These difficulties are such that, according to several reports, drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll felt from the very first practice sessions that they would not be able to complete long stints under race conditions.

  Winter testing, first in Barcelona and then in Bahrain, had already highlighted these weaknesses, which were subsequently confirmed under real-world conditions.

  Newey refocused on his core expertise

  Faced with this critical situation, Aston Martin had to react quickly.

  Adrian Newey, whose appointment as team principal had taken place only a few months earlier, is therefore expected to return to a role more natural to him: that of engineer and technical leader.

  This repositioning seems logical. Newey remains, above all, recognized as one of the greatest engineers in F1 history, with a unique ability to design high-performance cars. Conversely, the role of team principal, which is heavily focused on management and internal politics, does not align with his optimal profile.

  Certain bold technical decisions would also have complicated the AMR26 project. Among them was the idea of a battery system split into two parts to optimize weight distribution—a non-standard approach that would have significantly disrupted integration with Honda.

  Wheatley, the ideal candidate to turn things around?

  To replace Newey, Aston Martin is reportedly turning to an experienced candidate: Jonathan Wheatley.

  Having spent over 20 years at Red Bull and most recently working at Sauber/Audi alongside Mattia Binotto, Wheatley has solid experience in team management and organizing complex structures.

  His arrival would make sense on several levels:

  • recognized operational expertise

  • in-depth knowledge of how top teams operate

  • shared history with Newey at Red Bull

    It is also possible that Newey himself recommended Wheatley to Lawrence Stroll, the team's owner.

    This choice would reflect a clear intention: to recreate part of Red Bull's organizational DNA within Aston Martin.

    A swift… and revealing transition

    If this change is confirmed, it would come just a few months after Newey took office as team principal—an extremely short tenure at this level.

    This illustrates just how critical the situation is viewed internally.

    The 2026 regulations, despite having been anticipated by the teams for over a year, seem to have caught Aston Martin off guard. The chassis-engine partnership with Honda, which was supposed to be a strategic turning point, is currently proving to be a major weak point.

    And now, what impact will this have on Audi?

    Jonathan Wheatley's potential departure also raises an important question for Audi. Having joined less than a year ago in a key strategic role alongside Mattia Binotto, his departure would force the German team to hire a new team principal or completely overhaul its internal organization. An additional challenge for a project already in the midst of restructuring. Mattia Binotto, who manages Audi's F1 project, could simply take over Wheatley's role as well, even though the two roles sometimes seemed to overlap.

    Aston Martin Faces an Urgent Situation

    For Aston Martin, this reorganization appears to be a quick-fix attempt.

    The goal is clear: to restore coherence between engineering and management, allow Newey to focus on the car, and entrust overall management to an experienced figure.

    It remains to be seen whether this change will be enough to turn around a 2026 season that already looks compromised.

    Do you think it's a good idea?