This year, Adrian Newey made the move to Aston Martin. After a long stint at Red Bull, the celebrated designer chose a new challenge with Lawrence Stroll’s team. In the run-up to this now-famous transfer, it was long uncertain whether the 66-year-old aerodynamics guru would return to Formula 1 at all. Prior to the Canadian GP, Newey reveals how he ended up at Aston Martin.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Newey confirmed that he had no concrete plans after leaving Red Bull. He even considered turning his back on motorsport for good. “I resigned from Red Bull for several reasons,” he candidly shared. “At that point, I really had no idea what I was going to do next. So, I took a step back to think about it calmly. I had many discussions with Mandy, my wife, about what I should do.”
Life Beyond Formula 1
What did those first days without Formula 1 look like? “It varied,” Newey said. “I was able to relax a lot and went on sun holidays – drinking lots of margaritas and such,” he joked. “Until I wanted to get back to work – the question was just how I wanted to fill that in.” Newey looked beyond just Formula 1. A role in the America’s Cup, one of the world’s most prestigious sailing races, was also an option.
“The America’s Cup is very interesting and also forms a kind of parallel universe to Formula 1,” Newey explained enthusiastically. “The technologies are very similar. The only thing I don’t like about the America’s Cup is that you can’t quickly redeem yourself; you have a race once every four years. And between the time the boat is launched and the time you actually race, there are at most two months. So if your design is not perfect, you hardly have time to analyze and solve the problem.”In 2023, Max Verstappen had the opportunity to experience the America’s Cup with the Alinghi Red Bull Racing team (Samo Vidic/Alinghi Red Bull Racing)
“In Formula 1, even if you start the season poorly, you can always turn the tide,” emphasized Newey. “Provided the fundamental architecture of the car is good and you have the right engines and drivers,” he added. During his time at Red Bull, Newey also had the opportunity to design street cars. Not your average grocery getters, of course, but hypercars like the Aston Martin Valkyrie and the Red Bull RB17 – cars that feel most at home on the track.
‘Needed Competition’
“Street cars have always fascinated me,” confirmed Newey. “But what I find so great about my career is that combination of human and machine, of athletic effort – the fact that you are almost weekly on the world stage.” It was for this reason that he signed a new contract with Aston Martin; because of the sporting aspect.
“When I compare Formula 1 with the work that my university friends do in aviation at companies like British Aerospace or Rolls-Royce, they work on projects that really only take off after ten or fifteen years,” Newey explained. “You get hardly any feedback. I felt it was time again for human and machine, for competition,” he concluded.
