Andy Cowell could replace Whitmarsh at Aston Martin

Former Mercedes chief mechanic Andy Cowell could replace Martin Whitmarsh at Aston Martin, who has headed Aston Martin Performance Technologies, the British company’s technology division, since 2021.

Cowell, a key developer of Mercedes’ hybrid powertrains that helped the team dominate Formula 1 from 2014 to 2020, is in talks with Aston Martin, Gazzetta dello Sport reports. If the parties reach an agreement, it could block the transfer to the team of Mattia Binotto, who served as Ferrari’s team principal until the end of 2022.

The start of the season is not going well for Aston Martin, and Lawrence Stroll, co-owner of the team, who has invested heavily in the construction of the new base and new wind tunnel, is actively looking for high-level technical specialists whose experience and knowledge can contribute to progress. Andy Cowell worked for Mercedes for 16 years and under him the team achieved its greatest successes, so he certainly has experience of winning.

As the Italian publication notes, Binotto is unlikely to remain out of work either: a year ago, when serious changes were taking place in Alpine F1’s management, he received an offer from the Renault factory team, but at that time he was not yet ready to return to the paddock.

Apparently the situation is changing now, partly because Flavio Briatore has become an advisor to Luca de Meo, the head of the French group, and is effectively playing the role of crisis manager. There is a good chance that Briatore will be able to convince Binotto that Alpine is serious about its plans for the coming years.

“Alpine will be on the podium in 2026,” Flavio told Radio Rai. “This year we are losing too much, but we are rebuilding the whole team. I have all the necessary authority from Luca de Meo and I can guarantee: in two seasons we will be talking about catwalks.”