F1 Today | Antonelli suffers road crash as Aston Martin addresses key figure rumours

Aston Martin has moved to shut down recent speculation, confirming to GPblog that Chief Strategy Officer Andy Cowell remains “fully committed” to the project.

Cowell joined Aston Martin as CEO in July 2024, before briefly combining that role with team principal duties from January 2025.

However, reports had recently claimed that the former Mercedes HPP managing director could be on course to leave the team in June 2026, pointing to an alleged mismatch between his position and how it evolved within the organisation — claims the Silverstone-based outfit has now firmly rejected.

Kimi Antonelli was involved in a road accident in Serravalle, where he struck a guardrail before exiting the vehicle unharmed and contacting the police himself.

The incident is understood to have taken place just five days ahead of the start of Bahrain testing, where Antonelli is set to split driving duties in the W17 with teammate George Russell, following the initial shakedown held in Barcelona in late January.

At the time, Antonelli was at the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+ Motorsport Collection, a limited-edition model restricted to 200 units. Mercedes has since confirmed that the Italian is already in Bahrain and ready to take part in the second pre-season test.