Personnel quake in Formula 1 after the Las Vegas weekend? Team boss and CEO Andy Cowell is threatening to quit Aston Martin. Christian Horner is said to be a successor candidate.
“RacingNews365” and “BBC” report unanimously about the impending separation from Cowell.
The 56-year-old Brit only took over the team boss position at Aston Martin from Mike Krack in October 2024. He remained with the racing team, but moved to the track as the main engineer responsible.
Cowell joined Aston Martin as group CEO in 2023. He already knew Formula 1 very well and had worked as a top engineer at Mercedes in the past.
Now the impending departure of several high-ranking Aston Martin employees, including aerodynamics director Eric Blandin, is said to have become Cowell’s undoing. There are also said to be differences with Adrian Newey, who is employed as Managing Technical Partner at Aston Martin. Team owner Lawrence Stroll is said to appreciate the separation from Cowell.
Formula 1: Christian Horner joining Aston Martin this year?
Two successor candidates are already being traded. One is Andreas Seidl. The Passau native worked for BMW in Formula 1 from 2000 to 2009 and led the German car manufacturer’s DTM comeback after leaving the premier motorsport class.
He then worked for Porsche and finally returned to Formula 1 in 2019 as team boss at McLaren. From the beginning of 2023 to summer 2024 he then acted as Managing Director at Sauber.
But according to the BBC, Christian Horner is also said to be among the candidates at Aston Martin. He was fired from Red Bull in July.
Aston Martin did not want to confirm or deny Cowell’s immediate departure when asked by the reporting media.
The team “will not engage in rumors or speculation,” it said in a statement. “The focus is on maximizing performance in the remaining races and preparing for 2026.”
Aston Martin is currently only seventh in the Formula 1 team rankings. Fernando Alonso is in 13th place in the Drivers’ World Championship with 40 points, his teammate Lance Stroll (32 points) is 15th.