Cowell: Newey's creativity cannot be held back

      Andy Cowell, head of Aston Martin F1, is convinced that Adrian Newey's creative approach cannot be held back, but only needs to be directed in the right direction.

      Newey starts working for the Silverstone team at the beginning of March, and everyone has high hopes for his arrival. Other highly qualified specialists have recently joined the team, including Cowell himself, and their task is to prepare as well as possible for the transition to the new technical regulations scheduled for 2026 and to lead Aston Martin to future victories.

      When Cowell was asked during an interview with Sky Sports if Newey would be given free rein, he replied: "Absolutely. Adrian has a passion for success and creativity, and our organization needs to learn how to use it properly, but not hold it back.

      The question is, how to create the right environment for creativity? How can we provide people with the best tools – CFD technologies, wind tunnels, and production capabilities? I think it's very important for creative people to be inspired."

      Cowell was once the head of the Mercedes engine division, which then produced the best engines of the championship, thanks to which the Stuttgart automaker's factory team achieved impressive success. But last October, he joined Aston Martin, and last month was appointed the new team leader, while Mike Krak will now lead its racing team.

      "We are making great efforts to work together and work as efficiently as possible in the process of creating a racing car," Cowell continued. "We believe that with this approach, we will achieve our goals faster and faster. We want to win races and championships, we would like our drivers to take the top two places in the individual standings, and we would really like to win championships every year.

      It is our dream to regularly compete for race wins and get them, but we remain realistic and understand that we have exceptionally strong rivals. Therefore, it is necessary to set difficult tasks for yourself, both in terms of results and in terms of the time frame for which they need to be achieved.

      Lawrence Stroll made it very clear that he wanted me to lead the team, decide on an action plan, set goals for everyone, inspire everyone, and succeed. I am happy to accept this challenge. In the first months of work, it is important to understand what is happening in our organization, how it works, and we have already started making changes that should help the team become more effective.

      When the organization's structure becomes simpler and the number of management levels decreases, it always improves the quality of communication and makes information exchange more effective. My style is to figure out what is being done in the engineering department, in the IT field, and then try to find the right balance in the interaction of all departments."