Adrian Newey has created a number of championship-winning vehicles. However, every time he turns to his 1994 William FW16 the degree of guilt for the passing of Ayrton Senna will continue to pursue the god of aerodynamics. Although this tragic event occurred 29 years ago, Adrian Newey’s remorse once prompted him, as revealed by him on the recent episode of Beyond the Grid, to quit the realm of Motorsports. Although this would have prevented him from witnessing the forthcoming golden patch he was supposed to have with Red Bull.
Adrian Newey joined Red Bull in 2006 and quickly elevated the team to the forefront. After the team’s initial victory in 2009, the squad won six constructor championships and seven driver championships (Max Verstappen is certain to win in Qatar). The team secured its sixth championship at the Japanese Grand Prix by winning 15 out of 16 races.
There are still six Grand Prix left in the season. Thus winning with that many races left shows the level of dominance the team displayed throughout. However if Adrian Newey had drowned himself in sorrow for the unfortunate accident in Imola, this would not have been conceivable.
Adrian Newey recalls Ayrton Senna’s unfortunate mishap
Newey admitted to the Beyond the Grid F1 Podcast that Senna had turned into his nemesis over time. With these details, Newey described how the death of the Brazilian champion kept on compelling him to leave the sport He said,” After Ayrton’s death I thought about quitting. If you don’t have these thoughts and don’t question yourself after such a tragedy, something is wrong. But if Patrick Head and I had stopped, Williams would have collapsed.”
Even though Newey had considered quitting the sport in the wake of the horrific incident, it was his loyalty to Williams that prevented him from doing so. If the 73-year-old had quit, the British team would have collapsed. Nevertheless, 29 years have gone since that time, and Adrian Newey’s decision appears to have benefited Red Bull. However, very few of us are aware of the truth in the wake of the Brazilian champion’s tragic death, which tormented the aero God for days.
Adrian Newey holds him accountable for Senna’s death
Newey revealed the biggest secret and said that his deepest regret was creating the FW16. According to him, in 1993, he made changes to the vehicle that rendered it aerodynamically unviable. He said, ” That car was one of my biggest regrets. Regardless of the causes of the Imola accident, the only thing that can be said is that it was aerodynamically unstable.” Later, he described how after a couple of years of active suspension the passive ones returned and Newey totally overturned them.
However, the moment that Newey and the other five Williams men were taken to court caused him the most agony. The FIA had significant conversations about safety after Ayrton Senna’s death, which led to quick change.
Back then, Italian State prosecutor Maurizio Passarini accused the Williams team’s leaders along with 5 other men including Patrick Head and Adrian Newey of manslaughter. This was to contend that Senna’s tragic crash was brought on by the collapse of the steering column. However, all the defendants including Frank Williams were declared not guilty and freed when the judge found “no proof of blame.”
Adrian Newey is currently far from the turmoil and carefully collaborating with Red Bull to at least keep them a champion through 2025. Even though Newey’s creations helped different teams win the constructors’ and drivers’ titles the 1993-designed FW16 might be the one that the aerodynamic God wants to forget.
