Fernando Alonso has had a long and successful career in F1. He came into the sport in the early 2000s and continues to race at an elite level. Alonso has had the opportunity to drive alongside a number of famous people in F1. However, he has not had the opportunity of working alongside Adrian Newey.
Adrian Newey is one of the F1 car designers in F1 history. There are not a lot of other designers whose names can be compared to Newey’s. He has been in F1 since the 1980s and has had the opportunity to work with a number of drivers.
Fernando Alonso feels lucky to have been in F1 with Adrian Newey
Although Fernando Alonso has been in F1 for a long time, he has not had the opportunity to work alongside Newey. In a recent interview, Alonso was asked about Newey.
“He’s a legend of the sport,” reflected Alonso. “We’ve been very close a few times to working together and we spoke about this.”
“I remember when he published a book a few years ago in Spain, I had the privilege to do the first page, the prologue. For me, it’s just an incredible person that I was so lucky to work in the same environment as him.
“Even if we never worked together, I’m happy that [I’m] living and driving in this time – that Adrian Newey is just building Formula 1 cars.
Fernando Alonso about Adrian Newey:
“He’s a legend of the sport… We’ve been very close a few times to working together and we spoke about this.”
Alonso, who has been occasionally linked to a Red Bull switch, continued: “I remember when he published a book a few years ago in… pic.twitter.com/dwLzNlqvyD
— Aston Martin F1 updates (@startonpole) December 10, 2023
“I wish one day that I was working with him… I’ll drive the [Aston Martin] Valkyrie [road-going track day car project initially led by Newey] at home and maybe I’ll feel something already when I jump in and that will make me happy.”
Before Newey joined Red Bull, he worked as their technical director at McLaren. This was just a couple of years before Alonso joined the team. Even today, the Spaniard’s name keeps coming up as a prospect to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull. This would put Fernando on the same team as Newey.
Who designed Fernando Alonso’s Championship-winning Renault?
When Alonso started his career at Renault, he was considered to be one of the most promising drivers of the 21st century. As a result, he put an end to Michael Schumacher and Ferrari’s Championship run. He won 2 consecutive championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006.
During his Championship winning years, he drove the Renault R25. The chassis of the car was designed by Bob Bell, Tim Densham, James Allison, and Dino Toso. The project was overseen by Pat Symonds. All of these were well-renowned designers in F1. James Allison went on to work with Ferrari and now Mercedes after leaving Renault. He is highly credited for Mercedes’ Championship-winning car in 2020.
Turn up the volume! 🔊
Alonso goes for a lap, around the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, in the legendary Renault R25! 🤩#BelgianGP | #F1 pic.twitter.com/FBmOuMOJf2
— Paul McGinnes 🏁 (@PaulMcG92) April 10, 2023
Although this list of designers is considered to be some of the best, they do not compare with Adrian Newey. Over the years Adrian has proved to be in a league of his own. He has built Championship-winning cars for Williams, and Renault, and continues to do so for Red Bull.
There were a number of rumours suggesting that Newey was going to leave Red Bull for Ferrari. Although Newey did meet with Ferrari personnel, he never seriously considered leaving Red Bull. Horner has even stated that Newey will be a part of Red Bull for a long time.