Today, Formula 1 drivers will be busy navigating the twists and turns of the Albert Park Street Circuit, all while reaching unfathomable speeds and trying not to smash into the barrier.
Andy Cowell won’t be in one of the cars, but will arguably be in an equally high-pressure environment.
Cowell is the chief executive officer and newly announced team principal of Aston Martin – a role responsible for the team’s performance on and off track.
Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell.Credit: AP
“It’s an exciting job with a mixture of activities,” Cowell said. “It’s trying to think about what we need as team.” Melbourne will be Cowell’s first race in his new role, but he’s been coming to Albert Park for years.
“It’s actually a reasonably quick track, which coupled with the barriers and street circuit make it challenging,” he said.
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“It’s always a worry at the start of the year when we’ve just created new cars and the number of spares we’ve got is always tight. And then coming to a circuit like this, there’s always the worry that we’ll have the odd incident…but you just approach it like a normal race weekend.”
Part of Cowell’s role includes overseeing his two drivers Lance Stroll and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso – who turned 43 last year.
“Fernando seems to be ignoring the fact that he’s getting older year year-on-year, and he’s just competitive and hungry,” Cowell said.
“Both [Stroll and Alonso] have the desire to get in a quicker race car. So how do we do that race-on- race this year and how do we take a big step for 2026? They are both very much part of it, they help with simulated driving days and developing…and also ideas around next year’s car.”
