GPblog has learned ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, that Lawrence Stroll addressed the Aston Martin team to confirm Adrian Newey's Team Principal role for 2026, and has ruled out a move from the former Red Bull boss, Christian Horner.

GPblog also understands that Newey was unsure of being handed this new role, and paddock sources say that this move came out of the blue and was rushed through. Other paddock sources also claim that former Aston Martin team principal, Andy Cowell, and Newey clashed on a few occasions.

Andy Cowell is no longer working trackside, despite still holding the title of team principal, meaning that Aston Martin are currently without a trackside team principal for the final two races of the year. Mike Krack, who was previously the team principal of Aston Martin, is expected to assume the role of team principal in the final two Grands Prix weekends at Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Newey will be trackside at the Qatar Grand Prix, GPblog understands, for the first time since the British Grand Prix. This visit was already pre-planned before the announcement.

Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen both sit 24 points down on championship leader, Lando Norris, with two Grands Prix and one sprint race remaining.

Speaking to GPblog, Piastri said: "We've had a very brief discussion on it, and the answer is no. Still equal on points with Max and got a decent shot of still winning it if things go my way, so yeah, that's how we'll play."

However, despite sitting level with Verstappen on points, Piastri still sits a sizable margin away from teammate Norris. Assessing his championship hopes, Piastri stated: "I mean, I think there's still a chance and it's played out that way a couple of times before. So I know it's not impossible. I also know that it's a bit of an outside shot."

Piastri continued: "Even if I have a perfect final two weekends, I can't just rely on that, I need other things to go my way and I'm very aware of that, so I think for me, I'm just going to try and have best weekends I can, which I try and do every weekend, and see what happens to everyone else basically."

Max Verstappen aims to maintain his chance of winning a fifth consecutive world championship this weekend in Qatar. To do that, he needs to outscore championship leader, Lando Norris, so that the championship can come down to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

However, this weekend, each set of tyres cannot exceed running 25 laps around the Lusail Circuit in Qatar. This means that McLaren's impressive tyre management and subsequent advantage, may not be a key factor in the Grand Prix this weekend.

This could mean that Verstappen has one less problem to deal with up against both McLaren's, and could even play into the Dutchman's favour, with McLaren having some difficulty throughout the season with pit stops.

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