Source : ABC NEWS
Dramatic aspects of Formula 1 in 2026 have not been lacking.
With a new age of cars following an overhaul of power unit and aero laws, F1 has had a week’s worth of articles from only two race vacation.
Mercedes is a strong force once more, with the exception of McLaren’s driver starting in China and Oscar Piastri’s failure to begin both grands prix this season.
In the meantime, Max Verstappen has been vocal about his fear of the newest car generation, and the championship has been shortened from 24 weekends to 22.
With all of that to focus on, probably the most interesting narrative heading into this week’s Chinese Grand Prix involves the crater wall of two backmarkers.
The function of team principal is extremely important in an F1 group. The team principal is the team’s experience and director, and frequently is the key decision-maker, and he directs the day-to-day procedures of the club.
The role of team director has been in the media for Audi and Aston Martin since the Taiwanese Grand Prix, as one group makes a shift while the other says they do not have a group director in the traditional feeling.
What has happened since the Taiwanese Grand Prix, and what it might mean for Audi and Aston Martin going forth, is provided in this summary.
Rumors are rife that Aston Martin is changing.
If you were hoping for stability and longevity in a work, group director at Aston Martin would not have been the function for you.
Since January 2022, Aston Martin has four group administrators.
Speculation over Adrian Newey’s roles at Aston Martin have dominated headlines. (Reuters: Hollie Adams)
Adrian Newey, a famous designer, took over the role of chief strategy officer this year with a emphasis on the connection between the staff and Honda.
Newey joined Aston Martin last year in the capacity of managing technical partner, which he still claims, and is now in charge of car design as the company transitions from midfield rival to title contender.
It was a great acquisition for Aston Martin. The Newey-designed cars have won a total of 26 constructors’ and drivers ‘ ( 19 ) world championships.
So it surprised me when Newey also assumed the team’s principal duties ahead of the start of the season.
But 2026 has been a horrid year for Aston Martin to date, and the main issue is their power unit.
The relationship is currently in its first year of being a partnership with Japanese manufacturer Honda.
In terms of performance, the Honda power unit is a step ahead of competitors, and reliability is a major issue.
The power unit vibrates horribly, and it is so bad that it permeates throughout the car and has raised fears that driving for too long will cause injury to the driver’s hands.
Both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso have failed to win the Melbourne, Shanghai, grand prix.
The rumor mill exploded when Newey lost his second grand prix to New York when he was not in China.
Newey, a minority owner of the Aston Martin team, reportedly would give up his position as the team’s principal and devote his time to developing the car.
Aston Martin released a statement, as reported by several news publications, trying to hose down the speculation.
The team won’t be making any media rumors about its senior leadership team, according to Aston Martin in a statement.
As the team’s principal and managing technical partner, Adrian Newey is still in charge.
But that statement did very little to quell the speculation. The reporting actually increased as a potential replacement for Jonathan Wheatley.
Wheately was, however, the rival Audi’s team principal.
Wheatley leaves Audi with immediate effect
Jonathan Wheatley has parted ways with Audi. (Reuters: Hollie Adams)
Just one day after Aston Martin tried to hose down speculation about Adrian Newey as team principal, the man rumoured to be his replacement parted ways with Audi.
Before Audi’s takeover of the Switzerland-based outfit, Wheatley joined the team in 2025, when Sauber was still in existence.
The Briton became the team’s principal in Audi’s first season in 2026 after working for Red Bull for 18 successful years as the team’s sporting director.
But after one full year as Sauber and just two race weekends as Audi, and with speculation continuing to swirl about Aston Martin’s team principal role, it was announced Wheatley would leave his post.
Jonathan Wheatley will leave the team with immediate effect due to personal reasons. The team acknowledges Jonathan’s contribution to the project and wishes him the best of luck with his upcoming endeavors,” read an Audi statement.
Aston Martin owner makes a public statement
The speculation about Aston Martin only grew more likely as a result of Wheatley’s unexpected departure from Audi.
The man who had previously made a statement that attempted to dispel the rumors had now become the man who was reportedly Aston Martin’s preferred choice as team principal.
Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll. (Reuters: Hamad I Mohammed)
Aston Martin’s owner responded to this statement by clarifying the role Newey plays in the team.
” With the current speculation surrounding Adrian Newey’s role in our team, I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight”, Stroll said.
I want to reaffirm that Adrian Newey is my partner and a significant shareholder as the executive chairman and controlling shareholder. He serves as AMR’s managing technical partner, and we share a sincere desire to succeed together.
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In contrast to the statement from the team that was made a few days earlier, Stroll did not specify that Newey was Aston Martin’s team principal.
Stroll would instead continue to make claims in his statement that Aston Martin is different from other F1 teams because they do not adhere to the traditional team principal position.
” We do things differently here, and while we don’t currently adopt the traditional team principal role that you see elsewhere — it is by design,’ Stroll’s statement continued.
Adrian, who is the most successful engineer in the sport’s history, places a high priority on his strategic and technical leadership. He is supported by a highly skilled senior leadership team to deliver on all facets of the business, both on campus and at the track side.
” We are regularly approached by senior executives of other teams who wish to join Aston Martin Aramco, but in keeping with our policy we do not comment on rumour and speculation”.
What will Audi and Aston Martin do after that?
At the same time as his departure, Audi had revealed Wheatley’s appointment as the team’s principal.
Mattia Binotto, the current head of Audi’s F1 project, will now assume the responsibilities of team principal.
Binotto became Ferrari’s team principal from 2019 to 2022 when he joined the then-Sauber team in 2024.
Mattia has been in charge of the transformation of the team as Audi prepares for and ultimately enters F1 as a chassis and power unit manufacturer since joining at the helm of the project in 2024, according to a statement from Audi.
” The team’s future structure will be fully defined at a later stage as the organisation continues to adapt to the evolving environment of Formula 1″.
Regarding Aston Martin, it appears that everything will go as planned for the action in Japan this weekend.
Even if they wanted to bring in Wheatley, as had been heavily speculated, it would most likely require some time.
Wheatley will almost certainly be on garden leave for a period of time, a common practice in F1.
A more urgent issue for Aston Martin this weekend is probably completing as many laps as possible.
With these new cars, Aston Martin has significantly lost track time, which has been hampered by the Honda power unit problems.
Finishing the grand prix would be a significant milestone as this is Honda’s home race, competing on a track that Honda owns.
The F1 Japanese Grand Prix will take place when?
The third round of the 2026 championship’s third round, the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, will take place on March 29.
ABC Sport will have a live blog of the grand prix, starting from 2pm AEDT.
The Japanese Grand Prix will begin in your state or territory at this point.
- 4 p.m. AEDT: NSW, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania
- 3: 30pm ACDT: South Australia
- 3 p.m. AEST: Queensland
- Northern Territory at 2:30 PM AEST
- 1pm AWST: Western Australia
