Adrian Newey’s days at the helm of Aston Martin F1 team could be numbered if the rumours coming out of the Miami Grand Prix paddock are to be believed.

When Lawrence Stroll’s F1 outfit announced the monumental signing of the design genius in September 2024, I doubt anyone at the Silverstone squad would have predicted that Newey would step into the role of team principal over a year later.

In November 2025, Aston Martin dropped a bombshell announcement confirming yet another leadership reshuffle that saw ex-F1 boss Andy Cowell move into the role of chief strategy officer, with Newey replacing him as team principal.

With such a massive overhaul of regulations on the horizon, this took many by surprise considering that Newey already had enough on his plate as managing technical partner.

And those who questioned the decision were only proven right come the opening round of the 2026 campaign.

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Should Newey be replaced as Aston Martin team principal?

After arriving late to pre-season testing, Newey’s new F1 car got minimum track time, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll putting in the lowest lap count out of all 11 teams.

Struggles with the 2026 chassis and Aston Martin’s new power unit providers Honda have persisted across the opening rounds of the year and it was only on the fourth race weekend in Miami last time out that both drivers actually managed to complete a full-length grand prix.

Understandably, this has led many critics to suggest the British engineer should be left to work on Aston Martin’s technical woes with another more suitable replacement called in to take on the media-facing responsibilities of a team principal.

So, when Audi announced the premature exit of their team principal and Newey’s former Red Bull colleague Jonathan Wheatley, it seemed the perfect replacement had been identified.

Nearly two months later however, Wheatley is yet to speak on his Audi exit which came about due to ‘personal reasons’, whilst Newey is still juggling an overwhelming amount of responsibility at Aston Martin.

But could that be about to change?

Wheatley talks ramp up in F1 paddock, claims insider

Having spent the Miami GP weekend in the F1 paddock earlier this month, Up to Speed podcast host Jolie Sharpe reported back to her co-hosts with gossip from the grid.

“There’s much more chatter now about Wheatley,” Sharpe revealed on a recent episode.

“You know, I think that that should be announced… to be the new team principal at Aston Martin. I think that’s coming.”

Pushed by co-host Will Buxton to give further details about when the change could come, Sharpe added: “A lot sooner. They really want that announcement to be made.

“There’s also been talks that they’re thinking that around race 14… they’re thinking they could get into Q2.”

“So, the atmosphere and the energy there, I think, look, they’re all used to it. They knew what was happening before the season started, and I think any improvement is a big bonus. And they’ve accepted it and it’s not great.”

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2025 F1 world champion Lando Norris has opened up on F1 legend Lewis Hamilton‘s first world championship victory in 2008, revealing quite how awestruck he was by the moment.

Norris became the first British world champion since Hamilton last year, and has had the privilege of racing against and sharing the podium with the seven-time champion since he himself joined the grid back in 2019.

Hamilton is the most successful driver in F1 history, but his first title was arguably the hardest-fought title of his career.

After coming off the back of championship heartbreak in his rookie season in 2007 where he became within just a point of the title, Hamilton and his McLaren team faced a fierce challenge from Ferrari in 2008.

Heading into the final race of the season at Brazilian GP, Hamilton held a seven-point lead over Felipe Massa, and just needed to finish fifth to be sure of the championship.

But a rain-hit race threw up chaos for the Brit. On lap 69, he ran wide into the corner, allowing Toro Rosso youngster Sebastian Vettel to overtake him for fifth position.

With Massa leading the race, Hamilton spent the final laps desperately trying to get back past Vettel and into the spot that would hand him championship glory. When Massa crossed the line, Hamilton was down in sixth, and the Ferrari team went crazy with celebrations, thinking their man had won the 2008 championship.

But little did they know that rounding the penultimate turn at the track, Toyota’s Timo Glock was struggling for grip in the rain, and Hamilton took full advantage to fly past the German and into fifth, securing him the championship and leading to heartbreak for the Ferrari team and Brazilian crowd.

“This is the one where the commentators are going crazy,” Norris said in a video alongside Arsenal footballer Declan Rice. “It’s raining, he’s effectively not won the championship until one corner to go where he passes Glock which is one of the most famous videos ever in F1.

Explaining the 2008 machine to Rice, Norris said: “This is Lewis’ car, the one that crossed the line in Brazil and won him the championship. It’s pretty nuts to think that this is it. If I could, I would steal this any day.

“This was my first year watching F1. This was my first year and I was like ‘man this is sick, what is this?'”

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Hamilton builds on 2008 success

Following 2008, Hamilton faced five seasons without adding another championship, but a move to Mercedes in 2013 opened up more opportunities for the Brit.

When the 2014 regulation changes came into force, Mercedes were the dominant team on the grid, and Hamilton managed to claim six of the next seven world championships.

It means that he holds the joint-record for the number of world championships in F1 history alongside Michael Schumacher, but holds the outright all-time records for the number of race wins, pole positions and podiums in the series.

The British F1 legend now finds himself at Ferrari trying to add to his various record-breaking tallies, but faces stiff competition from Norris at McLaren and his former Mercedes team.

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Max Verstappen has once again showcased his incredible talents outside F1 with a brilliant testing display as he warms up for that 24 Hours race at the Nurburgring.

The 28-year-old may not be enjoying the new regulations in F1 in 2026, but he is loving every moment of his exploits away from the sport.

The four-time world champion has been racing regularly in NLS combat on the world-famous Nordschleife circuit at the Nurburgring. And on May 16 and 17 he will take on the brutal test that is the 24 Hours race at the German track.

Verstappen has also used his time globe trotting to get in some track time in Japan, taking to the iconic Fuji Speedway circuit driving a GT500 ca for the first time.

Driving a new car was not the only challenge facing Verstappen – the famous Japanese track was soaked in rain when he went out. But the results, as ever, were absolutely sensational for the Dutchman.

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