4. Martin Whitmarsh

Martin Whitmarsh (born 29 April 1958) is a British businessman and Group CEO of the Aston Martin Performance Technologies team since 21 September 2021.

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Whitmarsh is best known to motorsport insiders, media and fans for his long and successful period at McLaren, for which he worked for 25 years (1989-2014) in various senior positions, including Group Chief Executive Officer and Formula One Team Principal for six years (2008-2014).

Under his leadership, McLaren diversified its business activities beyond its core activity of Formula One, launching McLaren Automotive and McLaren Applied Technologies.

Whitmarsh played a senior and leading role in the winning of more than 100 Formula One Grands Prix and multiple Formula One World Championships and was at the centre of the development of several Formula One World Champions, including Lewis Hamilton. Whitmarsh was also Chairman of the Formula One Teams Association for three years (2010-2012).

In 2017 Whitmarsh joined the Global Advisory Board member of Formula E. A series statement said the board’s purpose would be “to steer the future direction of Formula E as a key player in influencing the global uptake of electric vehicles and its impact on reducing emissions.”

In October 2021, Whitmarsh was appointed Group CEO of the newly created Aston Martin Performance Technologies. Whitmarsh is responsible for combining Aston Martin’s Formula One activities with developing, applying and taking to market the group’s technical capabilities and intellectual property.

Japanese manufacturer Honda will launch a full-scale return to Formula 1 in 2026 as the works power unit supplier to Aston Martin.

Group CEO of Aston Martin Performance Technologies Martin Whitmarsh commented:

The new 2026 F1 power unit regulations are a huge and important change, but we are confident we can navigate successfully together. Jointly with our strategic partner Aramco, we can look forward to open collaboration towards a common goal.

Our future works partnership with Honda is one of the last parts of the jigsaw puzzle slotting into place for Aston Martin’s ambitious plans in Formula 1. Finally, I would like to pay tribute to our current power unit supplier with whom we will continue to partner for the next few seasons.