Crystal Palace Owner Woody Johnson Buys Into Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin Formula 1 Team

• American businessman Woody Johnson has bought a minority stake in the Aston Martin Formula 1 team and will join its board as vice chairman
• Johnson, 79, owns the New York Jets and holds a 43 per cent stake in Premier League side Crystal Palace, with his family’s Johnson and Johnson business valued at $20.5 billion as of June 2026
• The investment comes as Aston Martin sits 10th in the constructors’ championship after a difficult start to its new power unit partnership with Honda

Woody Johnson has bought a minority stake in the Aston Martin Formula 1 team, joining the outfit’s board of directors as vice chairman with immediate effect.

Johnson is the owner of NFL side the New York Jets and holds a 43 per cent stake in Premier League club Crystal Palace. His family business, Johnson and Johnson, carries an estimated net valuation of $20.5 billion, or £15.1 billion, as of June 2026. The size of his new stake in Aston Martin has not been disclosed.

Watch every race of the 2026 season live on Apple TV

Stroll Keeps Control

Lawrence Stroll currently owns 33 per cent of the Aston Martin team, with the remaining 67 per cent split among a group of private equity firms, sovereign entities and other investors. An Aston Martin statement confirmed that arrangement will not change with Johnson’s arrival.

“The investment further demonstrates the strong appeal and positive momentum of the team at a time of unprecedented growth for Formula 1, particularly in the United States,” the statement read.

“Johnson’s focus will be to support the team’s commercial growth, especially in the United States, but he will not undertake any day-to-day management duties. As executive chairman and controlling shareholder, Lawrence Stroll will continue to manage and control the company.”

A Difficult Season on Track

The investment comes amid a challenging campaign for Aston Martin, who sit 10th in the constructors’ championship after a poor first half of the season and a difficult start to their new power unit partnership with Honda. A combination of the team starting work on its 2026 car late and Honda falling short of its targets under the new power unit regulations has left Aston Martin on the back foot.

The team brought an upgrade to the most recent race in Hungary, and Honda have an engine upgrade ready for this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

A Longtime NFL Owner Branches Into F1

Johnson, 79, bought the Jets for $635 million in 2000 and is one of the NFL’s longest-tenured owners. Under his stewardship the Jets have made the playoffs six times, but they are currently in a 15-year postseason drought, the longest active slump in North American sports.

He bought his 43 per cent stake in Crystal Palace for a reported $254 million in 2025. As part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program, the Jets hold international marketing rights for the United Kingdom and Ireland and have played four regular season games in London, giving Johnson an existing commercial foothold in the market Aston Martin hopes he can help the team grow.

A Team Rebuilt From Scratch

Aston Martin returned to the Formula 1 grid in 2021 after Stroll led a consortium that bought and rebranded the former Racing Point team, with the stated ambition of building a championship-winning outfit from the ground up. The team has gone on to attract a string of private equity and institutional backers as it has expanded its factory and technical operation in Silverstone, and it recruited Adrian Newey as a major addition to its technical leadership.

Formula 1’s own growth in the United States, with races now held in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas alongside a steady rise in American television audiences, has made the country an increasingly important market for every team on the grid. Johnson’s arrival gives Aston Martin a partner with direct experience running major American sports franchises as it looks to build its brand there.

Building an American Fanbase

Johnson, who previously served as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, said his experience in that role shaped his admiration for the team and its principal shareholder.

“During my time as US Ambassador to the United Kingdom, I have developed a deep appreciation for Aston Martin’s rich history, as well as Lawrence Stroll’s strategic vision and entrepreneurial spirit,” Johnson said.

“I am excited to partner with him and contribute to the continued development of the team, with the ambition of building an organisation capable of competing at the very highest level of the sport.”

“We also share a commitment to growing the fanbase in the United States and introducing even more fans to the excitement of Formula 1.”

The move adds Johnson to a growing list of American investors with a stake in Formula 1 as the sport continues to expand its presence in the United States, joining the existing mix of private equity firms, sovereign entities and other investors that sit behind Stroll’s ownership of Aston Martin.

For Aston Martin, the timing is notable. The team is trying to close the gap to its rivals on track at the same moment it is opening its ownership structure to new backers, betting that a broader group of investors, including one with decades of experience running professional sports franchises in the United States, can help fund the long-term project Stroll set out to build when he took control of the team in 2021.

Want more F1Chronicle.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for the best F1 news and analysis on the internet.

More F1 Reading

• George Russell takes Sprint pole in the Netherlands
• James Vowles Admits He Feared Losing Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon to Rivals Before Their Williams Recommitment
• George Russell Insists His Mercedes Seat ‘Never Felt Under Threat’ From Max Verstappen Speculation
• Max Verstappen Signs Red Bull Contract Extension Through 2030 After Admitting He Was ‘Closer to Retiring’ Than Switching Teams

Written by

Jack Renn

Jack Renn is an editor at F1 Chronicle and a veteran motorsport journalist with 25 years of experience covering Formula 1 and international motorsport. A member of the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS), the global body representing accredited sports journalists, Jack has spent his career reporting from paddocks and press rooms across the F1 calendar. His work spans race analysis, technical insight, and in-depth features, giving readers authoritative coverage grounded in decades of firsthand experience at the highest level of the sport.

More articles by Jack Renn →