An astonishing number of prominent technicians end up at Aston Martin: who is already working for Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll and who may soon do so
Aston Martin has developed into an extremely attractive address in Formula 1 under Lawrence Stroll. In order to establish his team at the top in the medium term, Stroll spares neither expense nor effort and poaches prominent personnel from other racing teams.
In this article, we provide an overview of the high-ranking employees already working for Aston Martin and who is set to join them soon.
The two former Formula 1 team bosses Marco Mattiaci and Martin Whitmarsh are undoubtedly among the best-known people in Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll’s team.
The Italian Mattiaci was responsible for the fortunes of traditional Formula 1 team Ferrari in the 2014 season and succeeded Stefano Domenicali to successfully shape the new regulatory era. But by the end of the year, Mattiaci had already lost his role: Ferrari replaced him with Maurizio Arrivabene after a winless season.
After a stopover at the US technology start-up Faraday Future, Mattiaci joined the Aston Martin brand for the 2022 season. As Commercial Director and Head of Brand, he is primarily involved in the Group’s marketing.
Whitmarsh succeeded long-term team boss Ron Dennis at McLaren at the start of the 2009 Formula 1 season. During his time at the helm of the traditional British team, McLaren was “downgraded” from a factory-supported racing team to a customer team with Mercedes. Things also went downhill in sporting terms: McLaren failed to finish in the top three in 2013, and this had consequences: Dennis took over again from Whitmarsh, who left McLaren in 2014.
In 2017, Whitmarsh was appointed as a consultant to Formula E to work with other colleagues on the future direction of the racing series. In 2021, Whitmarsh finally moved to Aston Martin, where he is Managing Director of the group of companies, which also includes the Formula 1 project. However, Whitmarsh’s departure is already in the pipeline
The former head of engines at Mercedes is coming
The Formula 1 team has already introduced a successor for the role of managing director in the person of Andy Cowell: Cowell, as the former head of the Mercedes engine forge High-Performance-Powertrains in Brixworth, England, will take up his new position on October 1, 2024
It is unclear whether this also seals Whitmarsh’s end at Aston Martin. He wants to “retire” and devote himself to “other projects”, says Whitmarsh himself. This could go hand in hand with a complete withdrawal from the Formula 1 team
Experts from Red Bull and Ferrari
Aston Martin has also “poached” from rival teams on the technical side, and in key areas: The Silverstone-based racing team has bought in aerodynamics expertise in particular.
After seven years as Head of Aerodynamics at Red Bull, Dan Fallows made the move to Aston Martin in 2022, where he has been Technical Director ever since. And just recently, Aston Martin successfully poached the previous Technical Director Chassis from Ferrari, Enrico Cardile.
Will Newey also be joining Aston Martin soon?
But perhaps the biggest coup of all is still unconfirmed: Aston Martin also wants Formula 1 star designer Adrian Newey. His departure from Red Bull is already a done deal. The only open question is whether Newey still sees his future in Formula 1. And if so, with which team.
Aston Martin is certainly rolling out the red carpet for Newey: What must have been a generous offer was followed by a secret tour of the factory headquarters in Silverstone.
