In six weeks’ time Adrian Newey joins as managing technical partner, with a shareholding in the team. He will sit alongside Cowell in the structure. There is very much a sense that Cowell and Newey are already sharing a vision of how they need things to be in order to fully exploit the team’s formidable new facilities. Cowell is doing the hard spade work of making those changes so as to give Newey a clear run at whatever his technical vision is for the next generation of Aston F1 cars, unencumbered by getting the frameworks in place. In that way they maximise the chances of Adrian being able to hit the ground running when he joins (currently scheduled for March 2nd).
In his own field of power units, Cowell was every bit as accomplished and creative an engineer as Newey is in his. The big technology leaps represented by his Cosworth CR-1 of ’98, his BMW P81 of 2001 and his Mercedes PU106 of 2014 are testament to that. But Cowell also has decades of experience of leading a group, of being the boss, with all the attendant corporate responsibilities but still being a great communicator, someone who can get the best from a group of competitive individuals and getting all their power strokes co-ordinated.
These latest changes – and the recent departure from the role of technical director of Dan Fallows – show Cowell is not afraid of making the big moves behind the scenes. His down-to-earth, approachable visage hides a deeply competitive soul, one that is never anything other than all-in.
Krack has been moved to a track-only role, rather than his previous overarching team boss job
Aston Martin
When he left Mercedes HPP five years ago he left behind a great team at Brixworth, one which has continued to be at the cutting edge of engine development. That team of engineers, led by Cowell, was absolutely key to the unparalleled Mercedes domination of 2014-20. In the early stages of the engine-dominated hybrid era, they gave the team a head start of at least two years over the opposition. But that no longer came only from Cowell’s individual talents as an engine designer, but more his overall vision and how he led a big team of people, asking the right questions, finding the weaknesses in the system, minimising the losses, structuring according to where the focus needed to be. That’s exactly what he’s doing in this role – and soon the quality of the questions he poses will be enhanced by Newey’s arrival.
It’s not difficult to imagine Aston Martin as a championship-calibre team in the near-future. The pieces are falling into place. If you were Max Verstappen and fancied a new challenge in time for the new PU formula of 2026, where might you be looking?