It would be safe to say that the on-track performance of the Aston Martin F1 Team has not been ideal. After a successful 2023 season, the team based out of Silverstone would’ve hoped to have built on that and recreate last year’s astounding opening. Unfortunately for the team led by Mike Krack, this hasn’t been fruition. The team is currently P5 in the constructors’ championship, with the car’s seemingly in no-man’s land between the top 4 (Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes) and the rest of the pack.

The upgrades which came to Imola, which were labeled by some as the AMR24 2.0, didn’t bring as much performance as it was supposed to with the Team Principal stating it “made the car more difficult to drive”. Fernando Alonso also stated “we added downforce in all the upgrades that we brought to the track, but we still cannot use all that downforce in an efficient way in lap time, because the balance maybe is not totally perfect in the corners.” After the weekend at Imola, sources have stated that Lawrence Stroll held a meeting with Mike Krack and Dan Fallows, who was reportedly angry with the lack of progress being made. Fernando Alonso was apparently more upset than angry. The mood within the team was rather bleak.

With that, it has been reported that the team is wanting to expand its technical department:

MATTIA BINOTTO

Mattia Binotto, an ex-Ferrari Team Principal, is undoubtedly one of the best engineers on the grid, with him leading the team based at Maranello from 6th in the constructors’ championship in 2020 to 2nd in 2022. According to motorsportweek.com, Lawrence Stroll has offered the Swiss-born Italian the role of Chief Technical Officer which would place him above Dan Fallows, the team’s Technical Director.

It’s thought that Binotto’s knowledge of engines is invaluable as Aston Martin becomes a works team as they change from Mercedes to Honda. Many argue that the success of Ferrari’s current and V8 engines was partially thanks to Mattia Binotto. It can be expected that the ex-Ferrari Team Principal would have some knowledge regarding Ferrari’s 2026 engines which could aid Honda with their development.

ENRICO CARDILE

Enrico Cardile, the current technical director for Scuderia Ferrari, has been rumoured with a move to Aston Martin as it’s thought Adrian Newey has his eyes set on the red team. It is thought that Enrico is worried that his role would be “diminished” and be “overshadowed” if Newey joined the team. Speaking to media at the Canadian Grand Prix, Mike Krack stated generally that “There is a lot to read about senior technical [staff] and also recruitment. I think it shows this is an attractive workplace.” This comes after the Aston Martin’s state of the art factory opened in the summer of 2023. A brand new wind tunnel is set to be live in September this year.

Cardile, like Binotto, is one of the great minds in Formula 1, with him leading the development of the SF-24 which has already won two races as of mid-June. It is currently unknown what role the Italian would hold within the team, but it would be expected

WHO ELSE COULD JOIN THE TEAM?

While it’s all just speculation from here, there are some other faces who would fit well in the green team.

• ANDY COWELL – the once Mercedes power trains boss left in 2020 and would be a perfect fit to help Honda for the 2026 regulations. Though, it’s currently being reported that he is thought to be joining Ferrari.
• MIKE ELLIOT – after resigning from his post as Chief Technical Officer at Mercedes in late 2023, Mike has been on a break from Formula 1. The once CTO has a wealth of knowledge about the operations of a constructors’ championship winning team. He was also instrumental in making those cars.
• IAN JAMES – another key personnel which was once worked at Mercedes. Having worked on the Mercedes engines from 2011 – 2015, he left to work in Formula E and became the team principal for Mercedes. His managerial experience would be useful for guiding the green team in any department he is placed into.
• ADRIAN NEWEY – not much needs to be said here. Newey is floating on the market and according to his manager Eddie Jordan, he is still not set on any specific team. He is unequivocally one of the best designers to have worked in Formula 1, with him aiding the RB19 which won 21 / 22 races during the season. His career stats include winning 12 constructors’ championships.