The one thing Aston Martin needs more than a new team principal in F1

Between the grands prix of China and Japan, I decided to not fly back to Europe but instead to visit the beautiful city of Kyoto to explore Japan and its rich history a bit further. The land of the rising sun, cherry blossoms, endless culture, but certainly also the land of Honda.

The passion for cars, racing and Formula 1 is never far away in Japan, especially as you get closer to the Mie Prefecture where Suzuka is located. At no other race on the calendar - not even the British Grand Prix - is the atmosphere as tangible as during the Suzuka weekend. Japanese fans love the sport in the broadest sense of the word, and that is exactly what makes the experience so pure.

That said, national pride naturally plays a role, and in that respect this weekend seems set to be a tough one for all fans. After five seasons in F1, Yuki Tsunoda now finds himself on the sidelines, meaning there will be no Japanese driver lining up on the grid on Sunday.

Suzuka was, as we all know, originally built as a test venue for Honda, meaning that the brand still enjoys massive support around the iconic race track. But even in that regard, there seems very little to cheer about this weekend. In fact, vibrations and batteries have been the two most frequently used words in all media sessions with Honda’s senior figures since the start of the 2026 season.

It underlines that this might become another difficult weekend and that patience is required.

Just as in the past, Honda will eventually get on top of things and celebrate success again, although the project is currently completely different from the glory years with Red Bull - more on that later...

Does the team principal role distract Newey somewhat?

Having said all this, the Honda story is definitely not the only thing going on at Aston Martin. In the build-up to the Japanese Grand Prix, our Italian colleague Roberto Chinchero reported that Adrian Newey would eventually like to take a step back from some of the team principal duties, and added that Aston Martin has set its sights on Jonathan Wheatley - after which Audi soon confirmed that he would indeed be leaving the brand with the four rings.

Newey isn't the long-term team principal for Aston Martin

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First of all, it must be said that the part about Newey does not come as a huge surprise. When he was announced as team principal at the end of last year, it immediately raised a few eyebrows in the paddock. Many in the media centre found it hard to believe that Newey would truly take on all responsibilities of a team principal, including answering the annoying questions from the media.

Although in practice that largely falls to Mike Krack, at least post-race, Newey admitted in Melbourne that the team principal role does distract him to some extent from what matters most and what he is exceptionally good at - designing the fastest possible F1 car.

“Do I feel as if it’s distracting me from my core job of trying to work with everybody, work on my own to come up with ideas, development directions, et cetera, et cetera? A little bit," he said.

Wheatley’s name is a very logical one, not least because Newey knows him well from Red Bull and it is crucial that any senior leader coming in gets along well with the legendary designer — something that might be more complicated with, let’s say, Christian Horner

"Certainly, as I’ve mentioned earlier, the big distraction at the moment has been the work we’re putting into trying to work with Honda to assist them. But overall, I feel that once everything’s settled down with that senior management plan in place, or group in place, then no, I’m not worried about it.”

According to Newey, that distraction is linked to the stage of development the Silverstone-based team is currently in.

“As the organisation matures, then it becomes more self-managing. I think when I look at where we are with AMR now, then similar challenges to when I first started at Red Bull of working practice, communication, silos, all the things we know and love and try to break down.

"I think the personnel, the staff that I see at AMR are a very, very talented group, that we just needed to get them working together and between each other and so forth much better than they had been, and that’s well developed now. It’s well on the right path, but we’ve of course got work to do.”

Why Wheatley’s name would make perfect sense

Wheatley announced his Audi exit after just under a year in the role

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

In that respect, bringing in a dedicated team principal is not a strange idea at all, and perhaps even necessary given Aston's current state. Wheatley’s name is a very logical one, not least because Newey knows him well from Red Bull and it is crucial that any senior leader coming in gets along well with the legendary designer — something that might be more complicated with, let’s say, Christian Horner.

Moreover, Wheatley possesses several key qualities that Aston Martin could use in this phase of the team’s development, directly linked to the elements Newey referred to above. At Audi, Wheatley has shown in his short stint that he can bring a team together - unite it efficiently - and that he is also strong communicatively. Especially that last aspect is often underestimated.

Because yes, things are very difficult on the sporting side with Honda, but if the previous period with McLaren has shown one thing, it is how important it is to keep the communication respectful precisely in such times. Wheatley seems very well suited to that with his demeanour and verbal strength, also to sometimes soften things slightly in public if that serves a greater purpose – even though it must be said that some of the recent public statements about Honda might be partially aimed at the FIA, to get some more room for development.

One aspect matters even more: stability

Up to this point, everything would make perfect sense if Aston Martin was to make an official announcement in due course, but there is one thing it needs even more than any new team principal or any announcement: stability. That may sound like a cliché, but in Aston Martin’s case there is an important background to it.

In Melbourne, Newey explained that it had long not been fully aware of the state of Honda’s F1 project and how different it was from the successful years with Red Bull.

“No, we weren’t. We only really became aware of it in November of last year when Lawrence, Andy Cowell and myself went to Tokyo to discuss rumours starting to suggest that their original target power they wouldn’t achieve for race one," said Newey. "Out of that came the fact that many of the original workforce had not returned when they restarted, so no is the answer.”

Excessive vibrations in the Honda power unit have caused all sorts of problems for Aston

Although this sounded extremely surprising to many in the press room - myself included - it later became clear that it was partly linked to all the leadership changes on both sides.

While that is still no excuse for not knowing exactly what you sign up for, it does underline the importance of stability - one leader who maintains oversight over a longer period of time and who, alongside Newey for all technical aspects, serves as a stable point of contact for key partners such as Honda.

There is a strong case for allowing Newey to focus primarily on what he excels at and appointing a separate team principal for all other leadership tasks, a heavyweight who works well together with Newey. Wheatley ticks all those boxes, so bringing him in would be a logical move for Lawrence Stroll.

The ingredients for long-term success are still there with Newey, the state-of-the-art factory, Honda, Enrico Cardile and so on, but after the false start to 2026 it simply has to be accepted that the process will take time

But what matters far more than that is what happens afterwards, because that is exactly when everyone must learn to show patience. Aston Martin may make one more move, but after that, stability should be more important than anything else.

The ingredients for long-term success are still there with Newey, the state-of-the-art factory, Honda, Enrico Cardile and so on, but after the false start to 2026 it simply has to be accepted that the process will take time - probably a lot of time.

For Fernando Alonso in particular, that is a painful conclusion, but it is the reality at this moment. And it is exactly that reality the team must act upon, without any more panic.

Hopes of a third F1 crown for Alonso, 44, are practically over

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