Aston Martin F1 has appointed Andy Cowell as their new team principal, with Mike Krack moving into a new position ahead of the 2025 season.
The Silverstone-based squad arguably had the most disappointing season of the ten teams on the grid in 2024. While they finished P5 in the Constructors’ Championship, the car was slow and difficult to drive. Failed updates saw Dan Fallows leave the F1 side towards the end of last year. By the end of it, Haas and Alpine were clearly faster.
Cowell takes the reigns
Former Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell as taken charge of things at Aston Martin F1. In his time with the German manufacturer, he led them to incredible success. As managing director of the engine division, they destroyed the opposition in the V6 era. They won every single championship from 2014 to 2019 before his departure in 2020.
“To deliver the best race car performance, the team’s Aerodynamics, Engineering and Performance Departments have evolved to become separate, dedicated trackside and AMR Technology Campus-based teams with both reporting into Andy [Cowell],” said Aston Martin in their press release.
New position for Mike Krack
As for Mike Krack, he has been handed the role of chief technical officer at Aston Martin. They said he “will continue to focus on getting the most performance out of the car at the racetrack.”
The Luxembourgish joined the team ahead of the 2022 season. He replaced Otmar Szafnauer. Following a very difficult start to that season, they made significant progress as it went on. They finished P7 in the end, level on points with Alfa Romeo.
The high point of Krack’s tenure was the start of 2023. Aston Martin secured fix podiums in the first eight rounds thanks to Fernando Alonso. A further two followed in Zandvoort and Interlagos.
However, car development was already an issue during 2023 as they fell away. It allowed McLaren to beat them to P4 in the Constructors’ Championship, although Lance Stroll’s lack of performance certainly contributed.
Former performance director “Tom McCullough will remain with the Group in a leadership position, where he will play a critical role in the expansion of the team’s broader range of racing categories. Tom has contributed greatly to the performance trackside over his 11 years working at the team and most recently was a part of nine podiums in Aston Martin Aramco colours.”
Andy Cowell, CEO & Team Principal, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team, said:
“I have spent the last three months understanding and assessing our performance, and I’ve been incredibly impressed by the dedication, commitment and hard work of this team.
“With the completion of the AMR Technology Campus and our transition in 2026 to a full works team, alongside our strategic partners Honda and Aramco, we are on a journey to becoming a Championship-winning team.
“These organisational changes are a natural evolution of the multi-year plans that we have scheduled to make and I’m incredibly excited about the future.”
