Adrian Newey is the Chief Technical Officer for Red Bull Racing. He is responsible for designing all the Championship-winning Red Bull cars and much more.
Adrian Newey is now considered to be one of the greatest car designers to have ever walked the earth. Almost all of his designs have been able to challenge for championships. He has been approached by many teams with a job offer including Ferrari.
Early Years In Formula 1
Adrian Newey entered Formula 1 March Racing Team in 1988. He was a young, up-and-coming designer just making his way to Formula 1. Most of the paddock did not give him credit during his initial few years. The March F1 team was a midfield team at best. They did not have the budget or the resources as Williams, or McLaren. Despite all this, Adrian Newey was able to help the team achieve 6th place in the WCC in 1988.
The team was rebranded as Leyton House for the 1990 season. Leyton House came close to a victory during the France GP until a overtake was made by Alain Prost for the lead. It was still the team’s best finish in the sport.
After the 1990 season, Adrian Newey had issues with how the team was managed. This caused arguments between him and the management. Although Newey was going to leave, the team fired him.
Glory With Williams
Newey later got a better job at Williams Racing, which was a much better team that had the money and resources to fight for the championship. His time at Williams proved to be very successful for both the team and Adrian Newey.
He joined Williams for the 1991 season. Williams was one of the few teams that were fighting for wins and championships throughout the 1980s and the 90s. Williams had Nigel Mansell and Ricardo Paterese behind the wheel.
Newey was more involved in the development of the 1992 car as the 1991 car had already been developed. The team finished 2nd place in the WCC in 1991. In 1992, Newey designed a championship-winning car. Both drivers were very pleased with the car. The Williams drivers finished 1 & 2 with Nigel Mansell taking the title. The team finished over 60 points ahead of McLaren who came in 2nd.
Newey had developed a good car for the 1992 season as well. This year, it was Alain Prost and Damon Hill behind the wheel. They had again won the WCC and WDC with Alain Prost.
Tragedy At Williams
The 1994 season, saw Ayrton Senna replacing Prost. Senna is considered one of the greatest drivers ever. He already had 3 Championships to his name and was looking to add more. Since the beginning, Senna had trouble with the car. Although the car was quick, Senna found the car to be a bit unpredictable.
During the Practice Session at the San Marino Grand Prix, Senna agreed that the car was getting better. The San Marino Grand Prix already saw 2 major accidents take place. One of which resulted in the death of Roland Ratzenberger.
Ayrton Senna was leading the race, followed closely by Michael Schumacher in the Benetton. On lap 7, Senna missed the turn and ran straight at the Tamburello Corner, going into the wall at 211kmph. Senna did not move in the cockpit. The Marshals waited for the medical team to arrive at the scene. Senna was then taken to the hospital via a helicopter. Later that day, he passed away due to injuries sustained during the accident.
This devastated the Williams team and Adrian Newey as they were partly responsible for the accident. Senna had been complaining about the car all season, and although Senna said the car was better during the weekend, he did face a problem during the race. The 1994 season saw Williams take the WCC in spite of the tragedy that occurred during the San Marino GP.
Over the next 2 seasons, Newey designed cars that were able to challenge for the Championship. They came in 2nd during the 1995 season but bounced back to finish 1st in the 1996 season, with Damon Hill taking 1st place in the WDC.
Adrian Newey wanted to be the Chief Technical Director, but with Patrick Head already occupying the position at Williams, Newey decided to look for other options.
The Adrian Newey – McLaren partnership
McLaren Boss, Ron Dennis, offered Adrian Newey a job as Technical Directo. At the time, Ron Dennis was considered one of the best team bosses. He joined McLaren in 1997, but focused on the 1998 car, as the 97 car had already been developed for the team. In the meantime, Williams won the 1997 championship with a car designed by Adrian Newey.
At McLaren, Newey once again developed a Championship-winning car for 1998. The battle was close for the 1999 season, Hakkinen was able to win the WDC but McLaren lost the WCC to Ferrari. McLaren’s glory was put to a stop by Michael Schumacher and Ferrari as they won the next five WCCs and WDCs.
Happy 56th birthday to Adrian Newey, whose superb cars won 3 late-’90s #F1 championships for McLaren & Mika Hakkinen. pic.twitter.com/5uwW9laNyd
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) December 26, 2014
By 2005, Newey was feeling unsettled in McLaren. While McLaren wanted Newey to stay with them, Newey had other plans. He got offered a job at Red Bull Racing and he took it. McLaren’s boss, Ron Dennis was not happy with this.
The unexpected champions
Red Bull is an energy drink manufacturer. When Red Bull bought the Jaguar team in 2005, no one thought they would have success in Formula 1. Christian Horner, who is the team principal at Red Bull, knew what Adrian Newey was capable of. He knew that if the team wanted to win, they will need Adrian Newey to design the car.
Adrian Newey was very excited to join the team. This was something that he always wanted. With Red Bull, he was able to build the team up. He knew it would take time for the team to start winning, but he was ready to ride if Red Bull are willing to take the journey with him. Newey designed the car from the 2007 season onwards. They were still developing the cars during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The 2009 season was a different story.
In 2009 there were a few regulation changes to the car. Red Bull thought they had developed a really good car, which they did. But Brawn GP, which was owned and managed by Ross Brawn, found a loophole in the regulation and was able to use that to win the 2009 WCC and WDC. Red Bull Racing finished 2nd. Newey’s design had won 6 races that season.
Following the 2009 season, Red Bull Racing won 4 consecutive WCCs with Sebastian Vettel taking home the WDC for all 4 seasons. When Red Bull bought the team from Jaguar, no one in the paddock imagined that the team would go on to win a Championship.
Ever since Red Bull has always stayed in contention for the Championship. They currently have 5 WCCs and 6 WDCs split between Sebastian Vettel (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) and Max Verstappen (2021, 2022). Red Bull and Max Verstappen are currently dominating the grid this season as well. If all goes well, the team will be able to add one more Championship to its trophy cabinet.
Adrian Newey – Legacy
Adrian Newey’s cars have won a total of 11 WCCs and which is the highest for any car designer. 12 drivers have won the WDC with Newey’s cars. He is on track to improve this record by the time he retires from the sport.
He wrote his Autobiography named “How To Build A Car”. This was the motoring book of the year in 2018. He explains in detail what caught his interest in the sport, and why he made certain decisions. If you are a fan of motorsport, it is worth reading.