Jonathan Wheatley: Aston Martin target Audi F1 boss for team principal role under Adrian Newey
Stroll signed Newey on a contract that could be worth £30 million a year, including all possible bonuses and add-ons, hoping he would be the final piece of the jigsaw that turns the team into winners.
However, Aston Martin, which started the season with a disaster, is in last place in the world championship.
The car is not competitive yet. Newey’s arrival in March last year, combined with problems with the new wind tunnel, caused development to be delayed but the 67-year-old is confident the chassis can be made competitive throughout this season.
The bigger problem is the Honda engine, which has major reliability problems and lacks power and energy recovery.
The engine had vibrations that caused the batteries to fail in pre-season testing, causing the team to face parts shortages for the first two races of the season.
A workaround was found that allowed the vehicle to run longer by isolating the batteries from vibration. But vibrations are still transferred to the chassis and drivers’ hands.
Fernando Alonso withdrew from the Chinese Grand Prix last Sunday because the vibrations were causing too much discomfort.
Alonso said: “I probably couldn’t finish the race. The vibration level was too high today. At one point, from lap 20 to lap 35, I had a little difficulty feeling my hands and feet. We were one lap down, we were last. There was probably no point in continuing.”
Honda admitted that it does not yet know the source of the vibrations.
The hybrid engine lacks the power coming from the internal combustion engine and the electrical elements cannot operate at the full 350kw limit.
In both races so far this season, Alonso jumped from 17th to 10th on the grid at the end of the first lap, but fell back through the field as he was unable to defend against cars with more power and electrical regenerative and distribution.
Wheatley and former Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto were operating in a dual leadership role; Binotto primarily oversaw engine and chassis factories in Germany and Switzerland, and was responsible for the Wheatley racing team.
Wheatley’s expected departure marks the third management restructuring at Audi F1 in less than two years.
In the previous one, Binotto’s title was changed from chief operating and technical officer to head of the Audi F1 project, and chief executive Adam Baker left the company.
