– According to Karun Chandhok, Aston Martin needs more than just a new team principal in the form of Jonathan Wheatley to solve the deep-seated problems of the racing team. The former Formula 1 driver and current TV expert spoke about this matter to Sky Sports F1.
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“It sounds like there’s a lot wrong,” said Chandhok. So far, Aston Martin has not scored a single championship point in the 2026 season. Instead, they regularly compete with newcomer Cadillac for the red lantern.
Technical problems, especially concerning the Honda engine and the new chassis, are hindering the team. To quickly solve these very problems, Jonathan Wheatley, according to Chandhok, is no panacea.
A Life for Formula 1
“He has spent almost his entire life in the paddock. He’s been here since the early 90s. He’s not done with Formula 1 yet. So it shouldn’t be long before he reappears. But I think the challenge is whether he reappears and finds a role with responsibility that lives up to how he assesses his recent past, because now he was team principal.”
Wheatley resigned from this very position at Audi on March 20, 2026, with immediate effect. Since then, rumors have circulated that the 58-year-old could succeed Adrian Newey as team principal at Aston Martin and support the engineer in team management.
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Nevertheless, Chandhok emphasizes: “Honestly, Aston has even bigger problems than the team principal position.”
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“I think the team principal is the least of their problems. They need someone to solve technical problems, and I don’t think Jonathan is necessarily the right person for that. They need engine people sitting in Sakura to pull themselves out of this hole again.”
So far, the Aston Martin project has offered a variety of illustrious team principals. Besides Adrian Newey, Andy Cowell, Otmar Szafnauer, or Mike Krack have already been active in this position. Administratively, they had temporarily brought in former McLaren manager Martin Whitmarsh.
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At the head of this construct remains team owner Lawrence Stroll, whose son Lance has been in one of the two cars since the project’s inception.
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