Aston Martin has denied numerous media reports claiming that Adrian Newey has been dropped as its team principal.

In the last 24 hours, fuelled by the design guru's absence from the Chinese Grand Prix, there have been numerous reports claiming that he has been dropped in terms of his role as team principal.

As if this wasn't enough, it has also been claimed that he will be replaced by Audi's team principal, Jonathan Wheatley, the pair having previously worked together at Red Bull.

"The team will not be engaging in media speculation about its senior leadership team," the Silverstone-based outfit said in a brief statement tonight.

"Adrian Newey continues to lead the team as Team Principal and Managing Technical Partner," it added.

Meanwhile, Audi issued its own statement.

"There is no official update from our side at this point in time and we do not comment on speculation," it read.

Dropping Newey as team principal makes sense for in the eyes of many he should never have been appointed to the role in the first place. While he is an undoubted design genius, his demeanour makes a front-facing role somewhat difficult.

Indeed, many were taken aback by his candid, public criticism of Honda in Australia, and in China at the weekend the team sought to play down his comments.

As for Audi, Wheatley has barely got his feet under the table, and even if he were of the opinion that Aston Martin is a better bet than Audi he would face a long period of gardening leave before taking up the role.

Numerous names have been mentioned in terms of the team principal role at Aston Martin, including Martin Whitmarsh, while Christian Horner has also been mooted as well as former McLaren and Audi boss, Andreas Seidl.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 1 hour ago

"No smoke without fire, would seem the ideal fit but the gardening leave could be an issue unless a large amount of cash from Mr Stroll could alleviate the situation, for sure Mr Neweys full attention now needs to be sorting the cars issues which i guess Aston Martin did not see coming when he was given the team principle role. "

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2. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 10 hours ago

"@Celtic Tiger - absolutely agree he was putting it all out in the open. It was very candid. But he was sharing details that were inevitably going to be amplified in the press. And he announced that he had not discussed expectations with Koji Watanabe beforehand, while Watanabe was sitting right there beside him! Who goes into a joint press conference with a partner representative without agreeing in advance what’s to be said? The whole thing was extremely awkward & quite embarrassing. "

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3. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 11 hours ago

"@Ricardo_sanchez - A fair point but it's entertaining and really, as far as I know, he wasn't lying. "

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4. Posted by alejandro.torres.1991, 12 hours ago

"Isn't "issuing a statement to deny rumours" what usually happens before the team itself confirms the rumours?"

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5. Posted by Superbird70, 13 hours ago

"Sometimes the thought balloons need to remain thought balloons."

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6. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 14 hours ago

"@Celtic Tiger - there’s straight talking - which is refreshing - and then there’s over-sharing and throwing Honda under the bus. Newey’s recent comments to the press were bizarrely dramatic. He highlighted details that invited ridicule and sensationalism: nerve damage, components dropping off the car, running out of batteries etc. I thought it showed a lack of awareness. Brilliant designer, awkward communicator. "

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7. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 14 hours ago

"I actually like Newey as a team principle. Granted it's early days to see if he's good in the position or not but when he's asked what he thinks about something he tells you and he talks to you with the assumption you're a reasonable adult. So, I can always get behind a straight shooter. Unlike people like Toto Wolff or Zak Brown who would rather lie and gaslight you to your face. Newey is a breath of fresh air in that arena."

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8. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 14 hours ago

"On the face of it, putting Martin Whitmarsh into the Team Principal role would immediately bring strong, media-savvy leadership with a focus on execution and organisational discipline. It would free Newey up to concentrate fully on technical matters, where he adds the most value, while working more effectively with Cowell on sorting out the Honda issues. Not quite sure where (or if) Mike Krack would fit into that structure. Trackside execution, I guess. Aston Martin has a lot of bosses. "

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Newey: Aston Martin denies media claims

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