Adrian Newey has already had two key F1 figures turn down his offer to replace him at Aston Martin

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Adrian Newey is actively searching for his replacement as Aston Martin team principal, but he has already had two rejections for the position.

It was announced in November 2025 that the 67-year-old, who also serves as Aston Martin’s technical director and has a share in the company, would step up to replace Andy Cowell as team principal in 2026.

Leading the development of the AMR26 under the new technical regulations, the Silverstone outfit have had a woeful start. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll retired from the opening two races of 2026 with Honda’s underpowered and unreliable engine and severe vibration issues.

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Given the significant amount of money that has been invested in the project for such an embarrassing start to the season, Lawrence Stroll is now looking to replace Newey. It has since emerged that a search for a new boss has been going on for months.

The legendary engineer has only been a ‘caretaker team principal’, and he is now leading the search for his replacement. Christian Danner believes it’s too soon to replace Newey, as Honda have caused the majority of Aston Martin’s problems.

Nevertheless, a report from Planet F1 states that the team are on the hunt for a new team principal, but it is not going too well as two people have already turned down the opportunity.

Gianpiero Lambiase and Mattia Binotto have already turned down replacing Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Several people, according to the report, have been approached by Newey to take the reins at Aston Martin. One of them is his former Red Bull colleague, Gianpiero Lambiase.

Newey has ‘detailed knowledge of his strengths’ as Max Verstappen’s race engineer. Lambiase was considered a favourite to join Aston Martin as rumours swirled about his future with Red Bull at the end of 2025.

However, Lambiase has remained with the Milton Keynes outfit, with Planet F1 reporting that he ‘turned down the opportunity’ to come to Silverstone.

Audi’s Mattia Binotto is also believed to have turned down Aston Martin. The Swiss engineer has a wealth of experience in F1, having served as Ferrari team principal from 2019 to 2022, but he looks set to stay with F1’s newcomers.

Other approached parties include Martin Whitmarsh. The former McLaren team principal was the CEO of Aston Martin up until his departure in 2024. Planet F1 notes that the Brit left the role to retire, so it would be natural to assume that he too has rejected Newey’s offer.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Aston Martin F1 team principal Adrian Newey

Christian Horner is a ‘potential possibility’ to replace Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Another ‘potential possibility’ for Aston Martin is former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. He is searching for a way back into F1 in 2026.

The 52-year-old has been talking to several F1 teams since he left Red Bull in September 2025. Horner has been linked with Aston Martin, given his relationship with Newey.

Horner is believed to want to take an ownership role within a team. It could be possible that he replaces Newey as Aston Martin boss, but he has other options.

Alpine have been heavily linked with Horner as he tries to buy Otro Capital’s minority stake in the team. However, he is facing strong competition from Toto Wolff and Otmar Szafnauer.