Adrian Newey: Aston Martin must ‘not suffocate’ the creativity of an incoming designer, says team director Andy Cowell | F1 news

Aston chief Martina Andy Cowell says the team has to “use” and “do not suffocate” by Adrian Newey’s creativity when a legendary designer joins in March.

Aston Martin announced in September that they had signed Newey for the management of a technical partner after his exit from the Red Bull after almost two decades with Milton Keynes team.

Hope is that Newey’s arrival, along with several other recent high arrivals, including Cowell, can lead a team in the championship claim when new regulations for the 2026 season are introduced.

Newey, who designed the cars that won the championship in Williams and McLaren before his success with Red Bull, left the latter after an apparent breakdown in his relationship with the director of the team Christian Horner.

Asked whether to ensure that Newey has the freedom of acting as he wants in Aston Martin, Cowell said Sky Sports News: “Absolutely.

“Adrian is very competitive, very creative and as an organization we have to use it, not to suffocate it.

“All people acting in a creative area, as we provide an incredible environment – both personally while coming to work, [and] While working in a building with other people?

“How to ensure that the tools are a top drawer – CFD (computer fluid dynamics), wind farms, production plants? And that’s why I think it’s a thing that inspires creative people.”

Former Mercedes engine head Cowell, who overseen the unprecedented period of success for Silver Arrows, joined Aston Martin as the executive director of the group in October last year, before deciding to take over from Mike Krap as a team director in January.

Cowell is not under an illusion on the level of expectation that is facing a ‘dream team’ gathered by the extremely ambitious owner Aston Martin Lawrence Shorts to produce a car – for his son Lance Stroll, the double champion Fernand Alonsa.

He said: “We are extremely trying to make the race car to become our main focus, to work together in a collaborative way, a team of high performance.

“We believe we will work so faster and faster. We want to win races, we want to win the championships, we would like our drivers to be the first and second in the driver’s championship, and we would love to beat the return championship.

“It’s a dream, having a racing green car to see a plaid flag first, and the race after the race after the race.

“But we are realistic, we understand that our opponents are extremely powerful and that is why we have to set heavy goals, both in terms of performance, so in the time we achieve, and do not leave any gaps, not regret that we go forward.”

Restructuring designed to make the team more “more efficient”

The 2023 team started a big jump because they started the season as a surprising closest challenger in Red Bull, but failed to upgrade on that momentum.

Although they finished fifth in the constructor rankings for the second consecutive season of 2024, Gap to Mercedes, who ended both campaigns in the fourth, increased from 22 to 374 points.

Considering the ambition of the walk, it was difficult to surprise when the ‘restructuring of the organization’ was published in January, and Krack became the headquarters for the trail and the editor -in -chief of Enrico Cardile after his arrival from Ferrari.

Cowell said, “Lawrence was very clear that he wanted me to run a team, grow what to do, how to encourage everything, set up a mission and do it. I enjoy this challenge.

“One of the first things we do in the first few months is to look at the organization and see how it works, and I think the changes we have made are to help the organization make the organization more effective.

“A flat organization, fewer management layers, always makes communication better, makes it more effective.

“My style is to go and see what’s going on, see what’s going on in the engineering area, employment, it and try to balance all these areas.”

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