Aston Martin has made a major change to its F1 winning streak by hiring Andy Cowell as its new Group CEO, the man behind Mercedes’ dominant engine technology in the sport.
Cowell is the heart and soul of Mercedes-AMG’s high-performance powertrains. The Brixworth-based department is responsible for the cutting-edge hybrid engines that have helped the team achieve a record eight wins.
Under Cowell’s leadership, Mercedes has certainly kept its rivals in the rear-view mirror. Nevertheless, the British engineer left the Brackley team at the end of 2021.
Cowell is set to officially take over the reins of Aston Martin F1 from current CEO Martin Whitmarsh on October 1.
“I would like to thank Martin for his important role in the growth of our company,” said Aston Martin F1 Chairman Lawrence Stroll.
“Over the past three years he has helped us achieve several important milestones, including developing the team, strengthening our relationship with Honda and delivering the state-of-the-art AMR technology campus at Silverstone.
“We are delighted to have Andy join our team at this important time. With our partnership with Honda, the commitment of our title partner Aramco, and Andy’s leadership, we are well on our way to becoming a world championship-winning team.
“Andy has my full support and every resource he can use to win.”
“I’m delighted to be joining Lawrence on this exciting project and look forward to working with this talented group of people,” Cowell added.
“Formula 1 has always been my competitive passion and I am joining Aston Martin Aramco at an exciting time, with the AMR Technology Campus imminent and our transition to a full works team alongside our strategic partners Honda and Aramco in 2026.”
The Silverstone-based club said Whitmarsh would transition from his role until the end of 2024.
Whitmarsh said: “I have known Andy for a long time, bringing him to Mercedes HPP in 2004 and he became managing director from 2013 to 2020 and has had great success in business and sport.”
“He will be a tremendous asset to Aston Martin Aramco and will make a significant contribution to the execution of our strategy going forward.
“Once Andy arrives in October and the AMR Technology Campus is completed, I will be able to step back and focus on other projects in my life, knowing that the foundations have been laid with an impressive team, an inspiring vision and state-of-the-art facilities to succeed in F1.”
