Aston Martin F1 has been sharing its ambitions since 2020, when Lawrence Stroll bought Racing Point and the Aston Martin brand. But apart from a few podiums in 2023, the results are slow to come. Andy Cowell, the new team principal, explains how he hopes to change that and what he has put in place.
“My first task was to get to know people. I spent a lot of time talking to people: those inside the company and those outside, like our Aramco partners and Honda” Cowell said.
“I don’t have direct experience in the world of aerodynamics or creating a Formula 1 car in its entirety, which gave me the opportunity to ask a lot of questions.”
“I talk with people and I listen. The listening part is the most important. It seems so basic, but it was crucial for me to understand who the people are, what their roles are, how everything fits together, how the organization works, where things work well and where they can be improved.”
“The development the team made in Austin for the United States Grand Prix last year provided a concrete example. It did not deliver the expected results; we had to dig deeper to understand why this happened. is produced and implementing changes so that when we bring our next evolution to the track, which will be our 2025 car at the season opener in Melbourne, we are in a better position and it delivers the results expected.”
It details the needs to create a winning team: “It all comes down to putting in place a sustainable organization – sustainable in the sense that you don’t compromise future performance by banking everything on a single season.”
“Yes, you need to be able to focus on developing this year's car and you need a group of people who are focused on getting the best performance out of the car on the track throughout the season, but you need to also making sure there is enough focus on developing next year's car and the car after that.”
-“We need to avoid a scenario where people overlap several years because they tend to focus on immediate priorities and future priorities end up being compromised. It's about investing in the future, investing in these new ideas that no one else has implemented yet and to achieve these ambitious goals.”
“It takes a group of people who want to climb Everest more than once, who are willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top and do it again and again. That's the attitude and the spirit fundamentals that Lawrence and I are trying to develop within the company.”
The goal for Cowell now is to get the whole team to follow his vision: “You have to make people believe that those around them are doing a good job. Every time they look up to see what the people around them are doing, they should be amazed by the work their colleagues are doing. “
“I find that it motivates people to work even harder, to push themselves and find ways to make things better – because greatness tends to rub off. I want our people to think outside the box, to think creatively about how we can always improve what we do.”
“This is how we will end up being pioneers. This is the mindset I have been trying to instill since my first day. At no point should you think that you are perfect. If I say a day 'this is perfection', it's time to kick me out, it's time to retire.”
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