Adrian Newey’s Former Colleague Claims the Need for “Recognition” Brought Aero-God to Aston Martin

Ever since Adrian Newey announced his move to Aston Martin, many questions have been raised regarding the mastermind’s decision to snub Ferrari for the Silverstone outfit. Newey’s former colleague Marc Priestly, who worked with him at McLaren, has come out and suggested that it was recognition that pulled him to Aston Martin.

In his YouTube video, Priestly said, “He’s not a character who has a big who, but he’s a character who needs recognition from what he brings to a team. Aston Martin is certainly giving him that right now. The recognition of his past performance is obviously massive.”

Joining forces at last.

Adrian Newey Fernando Alonso. pic.twitter.com/Is5EfaWpSp

— Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) September 10, 2024

Priestly went on to explain how Newey thinks differently to the competition. He further suggested that if Aston Martin ends up winning from the position they are in currently, it’ll look like Newey had the biggest effect on the team, which will further give him more recognition.

Newey, during his press conference with Aston Martin, suggested that he wanted a new challenge for himself. The mastermind listed how he’s always gone to teams that weren’t at the top and gave him the freedom and tools to improve.  And now it seems that Aston Martin are making another move that can be beneficial for Newey in his pursuit to help the team win their maiden championship.

Aston Martin hope to sign Max Verstappen 

Reports of Lawrence Stroll being after Verstappen have been circulating around the paddock for a while. The Aston Martin owner is believed to be in a race with Toto Wolff to make the Dutchman sign for his team. 

Amid this, Newey’s signing acts as a huge boost for Stroll. Verstappen won all his championships in cars designed by Newey. With the mastermind leaving, the RB20’s performance fell off the cliff.

Hence, the Red Bull driver most likely would be keen to join forces with Newey again if Red Bull’s performances do not improve. Although Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull that expires at the end of the 2028 season, he could find ways to move earlier, especially if Aston Martin produce a strong car.