Written by Vyas Ponnuri
It was rumoured that upto four teams on the grid were in a race for ace F1 designer Adrian Newey's signature, ever since his departure from Red Bull broke ground. However, the British Racing Green outfit won out in this battle of wits, with executive chairman Lawrence Stroll offering a unique clause in Newey's contract for the next five years.
Aston Martin have been relentless when it comes to hiring staff behind the scenes. The team in green had snapped up a host of big names, including former Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile, Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell, who was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in July, and Dan Fallows, who had worked with Newey at Red Bull as a head of aerodynamics.
Perhaps Newey was the final stone Stroll Sr eyed up for his backroom operations, to perfect the dream team behind the scenes. An ace designer, with as many as 25 championships under his belt for Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull, he would serve as the fulcrum of Aston Martin's behind-the-scenes operations, working at their state-of-the-art Silverstone facility.
There had been plenty of intrigue ever since the 65-year-old announced his shock departure from Red Bull. A stalwart of the sport, Newey had designed various racing cars at the centre of the team's successes. Having capitalised on the rule changes in 2009, his mastery of the rules brought four drivers and constructors champions each between 2010-13.
Newey's prior experience of designing ground-effect Formula One cars allowed for yet more success to follow in 2022 and 2023, with the RB18 and RB19 arguably being up in history as his finest creations in the sport. The results were evident — 17 wins from 22 in 2022, succeeded by an overwhelming record 21 wins from 22 in 2023.
When the rest of the paddock were struggling to tame the infamous 'porpoising' concept, Newey's past in Formula One ensured Red Bull experienced a smooth transition into the current era of cars, helping them land a lasting advantage until earlier in 2024.
A rustic engineer, one who prefers pen and paper in an age of various technological advances, with title winning pedigree across eras of the sport. There's no doubt Newey's departure from the reigning champions sparked plenty of intrigue, the rumour mill working overtime, almost as if a driver on the grid was switching teams.
The split from Red Bull — a crowning era comes to an end
It was earlier in 2024 when Newey announced he would be parting ways with Red Bull in the first quarter of 2025. A partnership lasting nearly 20 years would finally come to an end.
A star-studded time with the team came to an end, with 13 championships across nearly 20 years, including four to Sebastian Vettel and three to Max Verstappen in the present day.
Initially, the 65-year-old reflected on a tough and intense 2021, when Max Verstappen locked horns with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. The British design guru and his backroom staff faced a stern dilemma, having to keep up with Mercedes in the development race, whilst prioritising the development of the 2022 Formula One car.
The entire series of events did take a toll on Newey, who was left 'very tired' after the hectic championship battle, and he instead looked for some peace and calm, initially thinking of taking retirement and sailing around the world on a boat with his wife Amanda and his pets.
“I think with Mandy, my wife, and the dogs, we’ll probably go travelling, get a motorhome or something and go down through France and just enjoy life. Then maybe at some point, I don’t know when, I’ll say, ‘right, this is going to be the next adventure’. But right now there is no plan,” Newey expressed, on his initial plans post the Red Bull departure.
While Newey may have been seeking retirement, and a world tour to boot, there was no doubt he would be firmly in the spotlight once his Red Bull departure became official. After all, no team would let go of somebody of Newey's stature so easily.
A four-way fight to sign Newey
Once it was clear that Newey would be available to teams from the first quarter of 2025, when he departs the Austrian team, several teams rushed to get the Briton onto their roster, with a once in a lifetime opportunity to sign the 65-year-old.
Arguably the biggest team in the race to sign the ace designer was Ferrari. The Italian outfit had been making strong strides all the while, bringing on Fred Vasseur as team principal from 2023, whilst announcing the big-ticket move of Hamilton moving to the Italian team in 2025, after over a decade of racing for the silver arrows.
With Charles Leclerc already marked out as the next big star for the Scuderia, and big name signings in Vasseur and Hamilton, it only looked poised for Newey to join the team donning red. After all, the last time Ferrari experienced major success, it was a similar combination of two star drivers, one famous team principal, and a popular designer.
Newey himself expressed a desire to work with Hamilton or Fernando Alonso one day, and work with the red team, smitten by the feat of working for Ferrari. Such is the effect the Italian team has, inducing anyone to dream of working with the team at some point in their career.
However, a fairy tale move to the team in red didn't materialise. It was highly doubtful for the Briton to shift bases to Maranello, particularly to be with the team in the future.
Even still, the Italian team offered the role of a remote consultant, leaving the options on the table to ensure Newey's influence remained in the team.
In addition, while Vasseur admitted he had the money to sign the champion designer, he wasn't inclined to be tempted into a bidding war with the likes of Aston Martin over the sum of money offered to Newey.
The French boss drew comparisons to Champions League football, speaking of teams such as PSG hiring big names but failing to win the ultimate prize. The odds of seeing Newey in Maranello had grown slimmer.
A prospective return to Williams, with whom Newey won four championships between 1992 and 1997, proved on the cards. However, with the Grove outfit still a work in progress, the infrastructure still not fully up to par, and Williams not possessing the finances to engage in any bidding war, any offer from the team looked off the table.
A last-ditch bid from Alpine offering a big sum of money to draw the Briton into their fold proved unsuccessful, leaving Aston Martin's offer as the most tempting for Newey to accept.
Why Aston Martin? The shareholding effect that did the trick
Aston Martin have been confined to the midfield for a large part of 2024. The team in British Racing Green hadn't set the field alight in the same way they did early in 2023, when Fernando Alonso finished on the podium six times in the first eight races.
The team's campaign came undone mid-season, with the car's performance slipping in comparison to rivals McLaren, the team in orange easily wresting fourth in the standings from Aston Martin by 22 points.
Part of their struggles came down to being unable to lock in a design philosophy for their cars over an entire season. The team's inability to dissect the direction to develop the car has seen them fall behind in the ever-evolving dynamic of a Formula One season.
Failed upgrades have cost the team valuable ground in 2023, as they lost out to the likes of Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari over the course of the season.
However, plenty has been going on behind the scenes for the team in green. Stroll Sr wants to turn the team into world champions one day, and his quest for success has led to an exquisite development trail. A new state-of-the-art facility at Silverstone, with a brand new wind tunnel, is at the heart of it all.
In fact, it's also heard Stroll Sr gave the staff working on Sundays an off, prior to the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, to allow Newey a private tour of the factory, a key factor in the 65-year-old eventually making up his decision.
Additionally, Newey gets to fulfil a life goal of working alongside Alonso, one of the sport's greatest drivers. The Spaniard's relentless desire to extract the maximum from the machinery at his disposal will spur Newey on, providing fresh motivation to push on to exciting times ahead.
Opting for Silverstone over Maranello also ensures Newey remains in the UK, and has flexible work terms. As former TopGear and Grand Tour star host Jeremy Clarkson once famously said, "Newey is house hunting in Oxfordshire, not Maranello."
A long-term five-year contract was also laid down by Aston Martin, with a base salary of £20 Million per year, going up to £ 30 Million after various bonuses. This meant Newey would be paid more than all but two drivers in the sport: Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, and more than both Alonso and Stroll.
However, the clinching factor for Newey was the offer of becoming a shareholder and partner in the British franchise. In all of Newey's years as a design guru for McLaren, Williams, or Red Bull, he has never been offered such an ownership role.
Stroll Sr played his cards perfectly in this regard. With Ferrari's offer waning, the Canadian businessman offered Newey the role of a 'Managing Technical Partner', an old school approach, but a highly effective one. Ownership in the team allows Newey greater independence and authority to function at his optimum, and opens up a new direction to guide the team.
All these factors eventually convinced Newey to finally put pen to paper and sign the dotted line for Aston Martin. The biggest piece of the puzzle, Stroll Sr had finally gotten the man he was chasing for years.
Newey, on the other hand, would be able to remain in the United Kingdom, appearing at the factory five days a week. With no side projects of hypercars or sports cars, the focus will solely be on the team's F1 operations.
It was arguably the best move for both parties, encapsulated by a big hug between Stroll Sr and Newey during the press conference slated for the announcement. With a fresh challenge at bay, Newey will be looking to put his aces to the good, and nail another regulation change to take Aston Martin closer towards their goal of becoming World Champions one day.
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