Andy Cowell, a key figure in Lewis Hamilton’s record-equalling seven world championships, will become the new team principal of Aston Martin.

Cowell, who spearheaded the Mercedes engine team which powered Hamilton into the Formula One history books, has replaced Mike Krack with immediate effect following a shake-up at the British outfit.

Aston Martin finished a distant fifth in the constructors’ championship – well below the expectations of the team’s ambitious billionaire fashion owner Lawrence Stroll – and while Krack, who has been team principal since 2022, remains, he will now lead their trackside operations, reporting to Cowell.

Cowell left Mercedes midway through 2020 before officially joining Aston Martin in October last year as the group’s chief executive officer. Adrian Newey, widely considered as the greatest technical mastermind in the sport, will take up his new role at Aston Martin on March 1 after he left Red Bull.

Aston Martin currently use Mercedes engines but they will be powered by Honda in 2026 amid an overhaul in the sport’s regulations.

“I have spent the last three months understanding and assessing our performance, and I’ve been incredibly impressed by the dedication, commitment and hard work of this team,” said 55-year-old Briton, Cowell.

“With the completion of the AMR Technology Campus and our transition in 2026 to a full works team, alongside our strategic partners Honda and Aramco, we are on a journey to becoming a championship-winning team.

“These organisational changes are a natural evolution of the multi-year plans that we have scheduled to make and I’m incredibly excited about the future.”