Formula One design guru Adrian Newey, who announced in May that he was leaving Red Bull after 19 years, has signed up with Aston Martin, the British F1 team confirmed on Tuesday.
Newey is widely considered to be F1’s greatest technical mastermind of the modern era, and he wants to help turn Aston Martin into a championship winning Formula One team.
Aston Martin confirmed that Newey would begin working at the team’s Silverstone headquarters from March 1, 2025, taking up the role of Managing Technical Partner.
He will focus on preparing the team for the new technical rules that come into effect in 2026. This will include integrating the new Honda power unit into the 2026 car and honing its aerodynamic package in the industry’s newest wind tunnel.
"As soon as Adrian became available, we knew we had to make it happen. Our initial conversations confirmed that there was a shared desire to collaborate in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Aston Martin F1 team Chairman Lawrence Stroll.
Newey said he had been inspired by the passion and commitment shown by Stroll towards his team’s F1 effort.
"Lawrence is determined to create a world-beating team,” Newey said. “He is the only majority team owner who is actively engaged in the sport.
“His commitment is demonstrated in the development of the new AMR Technology Campus and wind tunnel at Silverstone, which are not only state of the art but have a layout that creates a great environment to work in.
"Together with great partners like Honda and Aramco, they have all the key pieces of infrastructure needed to make Aston Martin a world championship-winning team and I am very much looking forward to helping reach that goal."
Aston Martin is running fifth in the Formula One Constructors Championship and has Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso as its drivers.
Newey is widely credited with turning Red Bull into the F1-dominating powerhouse that it is today.
However, Newey left Red Bull amid widespread controversy at the team, surrounding allegations that team principal Christian Horner acted inappropriately towards a female employee.
Although Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing by the team, the situation has reportedly put a strain on relationships at the top tier of the team.
IOL Motoring