Aston Martin highlight 'super fortunate' F1 driver market position

Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell has signalled Aston Martin's “super fortunate” position in the driver market.

Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has long been linked with a move to the Silverstone-based squad, however, more recently, the rumours have placed him with a switch to Mercedes.

The knock-on speculation has seen George Russell's name floated as a potential option for Aston Martin, should he be ousted at Mercedes in favour of Verstappen.

However, Aston Martin has contracts in place for 2026 with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

The team is gearing up for a significant change next year when it joins forces with Honda under new technical regulations, while the chassis is being constructed by renowned car designer Adrian Newey.

“We're super fortunate,” Cowell told the media, including RacingNews365. “We've got this exciting run into 2026. 

“Changing the power unit – we're working with Honda on that – changing the aerodynamics, we've got Adrian [Newey] working on that, we've got new facilities.”

Cowell highlighted that both Alonso and Stroll are central to shaping the framework of the team going forward, hinting Aston Martin is not interested in changing its driver line-up.

“The stability that we've got in having Lance and Fernando signed up for next year means that they're not only helping us now develop the tools that we're using for 2026, 2027 and beyond, but they're working directly on the concept of the car,” he said.

“The discussions in the wind tunnel are about the aerodynamic shape, but they're also about driver environment. 

“How much space is there in the cockpit? Adrian tends not to leave much space in the cockpit. Everything's exceptionally tight. 

“But that stability of having two drivers signed up through 2026 is really helping us.”