Andy Cowell is the brand new crew principal of the Aston Martin System 1 crew following a restructuring that sees Mike Krack tackle a trackside function.
Krack has been Aston Martin crew principal since becoming a member of in 2022, however has been changed by Cowell — who was already group CEO — “for readability of management and as a part of a shift to a flatter construction.” Cowell solely joined in October of final 12 months, and was a extremely rated signing following his earlier achievements as managing director of Mercedes’ energy unit firm Excessive Efficiency Powertrains (HPP).
Aston Martin says it’s separating its aerodynamics, engineering and efficiency departments into trackside and factory-based groups, with each reporting into Cowell.
The change in crew principal sees Krack handed trackside duty as chief trackside officer, which means his jurisdiction not extends to the manufacturing facility personnel. That falls below the remit of recent chief technical officer Enrico Cardile, with the previous Ferrari technical director a brand new recruit this 12 months, and overseeing “a crew that may now focus 100% of its time on the aggressive ingenuity problem of making a brand new race automobile.”
As a part of the restructuring, skilled efficiency director Tom McCullough will transfer away from the trackside F1 crew and tackle a management positions throughout the wider group, specializing in the growth of the crew’s different racing classes.
“I’ve spent the final three months understanding and assessing our efficiency, and I’ve been extremely impressed by the dedication, dedication and exhausting work of this crew,” Cowell stated. “With the completion of the AMR Know-how Campus and our transition in 2026 to a full works crew, alongside our strategic companions Honda and Aramco, we’re on a journey to changing into a championship-winning crew. These organizational adjustments are a pure evolution of the multi-year plans that we’ve got scheduled to make and I’m extremely excited concerning the future.”
Andy Cowell strikes from Group Chief Govt Officer to crew principal at Aston Martin. Zak Mauger/Motorsport Photos
The restructuring follows a change within the technical division late final season, with Dan Fallows leaving his place as technical director and transferring into a bunch function.
On the time, McCullough advised it was as a result of lack of progress with the crew’s in-season automobile improvement, as Aston Martin completed a distant fifth within the constructors’ championship and scored 94 factors in 2024 in comparison with 280 the 12 months earlier than. On each events, Aston began the 12 months with a extra aggressive automobile than it completed the season with.
The organizational adjustments are upfront of Adrian Newey’s arrival as managing technical companion at Aston Martin later this 12 months.
