How Aston Martin Plans To Overcome Development Stagnation

Aston Martin’s new team boss may have solved the issue that stalled in-season car development in the past couple of seasons.

That’s the view of Jefferson Slack, the increasingly higher-profile commercial boss at the Lawrence Stroll-owned team that has struggled to make progress since early 2023 despite making huge investments.

Since the end of last season, Aston Martin installed former Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell as the new team boss, replacing Mike Krack who now steps aside to become ‘chief trackside officer’.

Slack, who began his career managing Michael Jordan’s marketing activities before moving into European football, says it’s all part of a new approach by the team.

“I’m not a Formula 1 guy, and I’m certainly not a technical person,” Slack told DAZN. “So I didn’t meet Andy until a few months ago, but I can tell you that I’m hugely impressed.

“He has the technical knowledge, he has the human element, he has the leadership, he is decisive, but he is also very fair and I think that is absolutely fundamental for our future.”

Slack says it was also Cowell’s decision to ensure that the arrival of Enrico Cardile from Ferrari will see him lead car development from the Silverstone factory.

“I think the changes that he made weren’t just spur-of-the-moment changes, they were made after studying what would make us a more efficient team,” said Slack. “It’s not my area, but what I understand is that we haven’t been very good at developing the car in the last few seasons.

“Part of that could be the fact that the people who were travelling to 24 races were technically, in theory, also responsible for the development of the car, and that’s really difficult to do and I think other teams are structured the way Andy has moved in,” he added.

Slack continued: “How do you get a group of people that are on this amazing campus that we have to focus on long-term car development, while they are also going to 24 races? How can they then deal with everything else on the track?

“I think that makes a lot of sense, but Andy didn’t just wing it when he started. He took the time to figure it out, and I think that’s been the natural evolution of the business as we’ve grown as a team.”