Adrian Newey stance on working with Christian Horner again as Aston Martin link emerges

Adrian Newey is reportedly open to working alongside Christian Horner again, with the former Red Bull team principal allegedly on the shortlist to replace Andy Cowell as Aston Martin's boss for the 2026 season.

Cowell replaced Mike Krack as Aston Martin team principal at the start of the season, with the Luxembourgish engineer moving into a trackside role. However, with Team Silverstone struggling down in eighth place in the Constructors' Championship standings, only four points ahead of ninth-placed Sauber, the time for a change has arrived.

According to ESPN, Cowell is likely to remain with the organisation but move into a role overseeing the new Honda power units, with a new face set to come in as team principal. Horner is on that shortlist, alongside former McLaren boss Andreas Seidl and ex-Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto.

While Horner is unlikely to return to the grid as a team principal without an ownership stake, the Brit is an option for Aston Martin, and Newey is believed to be content with the prospect of working with his former boss once again, despite quitting Red Bull last year.

If Horner does return to the grid with Aston Martin, it will be a remarkable U-turn after Cowell distanced his team from the 52-year-old ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix earlier this season.

"I had a chat with Lawrence [Stroll] this morning to find out what he knows," Cowell said at the time. "It looks as though Christian's ringing up pretty much every team owner at the moment. I can clearly say there are no plans for involvement of Christian, either in an operational or investment role in the future."

While Horner targets a return to the F1 paddock, his former team are making impressive strides in his absence. Max Verstappen clinched his sixth Grand Prix victory of the season, and his fourth since the Brit's departure in July, in Las Vegas on Sunday.

The four-time world champion has now finished on the podium in each of the last eight Grands Prix and, after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were both disqualified from the Las Vegas GP for failing post-race inspection due to plank wear, Verstappen is now only 24 points behind in the Drivers' Championship standings.

McLaren still have control of the title outcome, but will be sweating over their position heading into Qatar. They apologised to both Norris and Piastri after the disqualifications were announced.

"We apologise to Lando and Oscar for the loss of points, at a critical time in their Championship campaigns after two strong performances from them all weekend," a team statement read. "As a team, we also apologise to our partners and fans, whose support means so much."