During a career spanning more than 40 years and 25 world championships, Formula One engineer Adrian Newey has shown his talent for turning “mad ideas into reality” in building elite racing cars.
In a sport known for technical precision, Newey’s approach has been to repeatedly ask the same four questions. “How can we increase performance? How can we improve efficiency? How can we do this differently? How can I do this better?” he wrote in his 2017 memoir.
A master of aerodynamics, Newey is a rare car designer celebrated in a sport where gladiatorial drivers dominate screen time. When the 65-year-old revealed his intention to leave reigning champions Red Bull this year, the speculation quickly went into overdrive. However, nobody thought retirement would appeal to a man once described by F1 legend Frank Williams as “more competitive than his drivers”.
In joining the Aston Martin F1 team as its managing technical partner, Newey is putting his reputation back on the line. All eyes are on whether he can repeat his success at a fourth team and to further justify his status as an industry legend as well as his annual pay package north of £20mn.
“He had alternatives. He could be sailing. He has taken the opportunity to join with Lawrence Stroll to try and repeat [his success],” said Eddie Jordan, the former F1 team owner and Newey’s manager.
By hiring Newey, billionaire Stroll has signalled his determination to win championships in historical British racing green.
“I can tell you, Adrian is a bargain,” Stroll said. “I’ve been in business for over 40 years now, and I’ve never been more certain. It’s not an investment. He’s a shareholder and a partner.”
Newey, who will officially start at Aston Martin next year, has also been given some equity in the F1 team in a move that he describes as having “skin in the game”.
However, his price tag, which is more than what many drivers and even some top football players earn, has raised eyebrows among some F1 insiders. Others question his recent contribution to the Red Bull’s recent success, pointing to the strength of the team, including its technical director Pierre Waché.
The matter of credit for Red Bull’s success reared its head last year, when Newey’s wife Amanda posted: “What a load of hogwash” on social media in response to an article in industry publication Motorsport that touched on how Red Bull’s technical prowess had evolved.
Growing up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Newey picked up a passion for four wheels — and engineering — from his veterinarian father, who worked on cars in his garage. Newey would sketch out his own race car designs. By 12 he knew he wanted to design race cars for a living.
Attracted by a wind tunnel used by F1 teams, he studied aeronautics at the University of Southampton, reasoning that race cars are more like aircraft.
Newey was a pivotal influence as the sport embraced the importance of aerodynamics in performance, with the “downforce”, the vertical air that pushes cars downwards, increasing grip and speed around corners.
He wrote his name into F1 lore at Williams and McLaren for his role in championship-winning cars in the 1990s. He also experienced tragedy with the crash that resulted in the death of legendary Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna in a Williams car in 1994.
Newey was hired by the late Dietrich Mateschitz, billionaire co-founder of Red Bull from McLaren soon after he bought the old Jaguar F1 team in 2004. The team went on to win both championships — drivers and constructors — four years running from 2010 to 2013.
After seven years of Mercedes domination, Red Bull returned to the front of the grid in 2021, when Max Verstappen controversially won the drivers’ championship from Lewis Hamilton. The team’s RB19 last year was one of the most dominant F1 cars ever, winning 21 of 22 races.
Newey’s potential at Aston Martin is not the only reason the sport has been gripped by his move. F1 supporters will also be watching how Red Bull will adjust following disruption this year when a female employee accused team boss Christian Horner of inappropriate behaviour. Horner denied the allegations and was cleared after an investigation.
The engineer, who still uses a pencil to sketch instead of a computer, will lead Aston Martin’s drivers — double world champion Fernando Alonso and Stroll’s son Lance — in turning a middling outfit into champions. Since Stroll rebranded the team, Aston Martin has finished seventh, seventh and fifth in the championship.
He will also need to tackle the next F1 regulatory overhaul in 2026, which requires the construction of an all-new generation of F1 car, more agile with revamped aerodynamics.
The designer will have the freedom of a newly built F1 factory and wind tunnel. Honda, which helped to drive Red Bull’s recent championships, has signed up to supply the engine.
Damon Hill, who drove a Newey-designed Williams to championship victory in 1996, says the designer has a special understanding of what drivers need.
“He understands the car is a tool for the driver and it’s no good creating a beast nobody can drive,” Hill told the Financial Times. “He actually understands your bum is in that seat and if it spooks you, it’s not going to be good.”
While Hill likens F1 to an “unexploded bomb” that can “explode in your face”, he says Newey’s experience means he is ready. “If he can’t get [Aston Martin] out of the midfield to the front end, I’d be astonished,” he said.