Cowell explains reasons for management reshuffle at Aston Martin
Aston Martin has recently announced a change of team principal as part of a major management reshuffle, with CEO Andy Cowell taking over the position previously held by Mike Krack.
The British outfit explained that the change was necessary "for clarity of leadership and as part of a shift to a flatter structure". Andy Cowell will continue to assume the role of CEO, but he will also act as team principal from now on.
Aston Martin has also announced that it has separated its aerodynamics, engineering and performance departments into two divisions, with one dedicated trackside and the second one the AMR Technology Campus-based team. Both divisions will report into Andy Cowell.
The trackside team will be led by former team boss Mike Krack, who will take on the role of Chief Trackside Officer.
The AMR Technology Campus-based team will be spearheaded by the team's new Chief Technical Officer, Enrico Cardile. Ferrari's former chief designer will oversee the architecture, design and build of new race cars.
Tom McCullough will remain with Aston Martin in a leadership position, but he will move away from the F1 division to focus on the expansion of the team's broader range of racing categories.
Asked about the motivation behind assuming the role of team principal and introducing a flatter organisational structure, Cowell said that Aston Martin is intent on improving "organisational clarity."
"The changes are designed to improve organisational clarity and race car performance. That's why we took the decision to evolve the Aerodynamics, Engineering and Performance Departments into separate, dedicated trackside and AMR Technology Campus-based teams.
"The trackside team will be led by Mike [Krack], who becomes the team's Chief Trackside Officer, and the latter will be led by Enrico [Cardile] in the role of Chief Technical Officer, with both reporting into me. This restructuring means Mike's team can focus on getting the maximum performance out of the car at every Grand Prix and Enrico's team can focus on the complex challenge of creating a new race car."
Cowell will now fulfil two roles - CEO and team principal. Asked what he likes to do outside of work, the British engineer said: "Given the intensity of Formula One, it's important to find the time to chill out and relax when you can.
"For me, the best way to do that is by spending time with my family and friends and walking my dogs. Yeah, that's life outside of work for me, just chilling out. I enjoy nothing more than catching up with family and friends, chatting about life, the universe and everything."
"I love the natural world. As an engineer, you try to better what nature's produced, but when you've been an engineer for a few years, you realise that you're never going to better what nature has produced. Nature is a great source of inspiration. Thousands of years of development, of evolution, can't be far wrong, can it?
"At this time of year, you see no leaves on the trees, but you know that in six months' time, miraculously, there will be leaves on the trees again. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could create devices with this similar regenerative property?"
