After several teams approaching him and the reports of negotiations and retirement considerations, Adrian Newey has finally announced his future with Aston Martin. As the 65-year-old took a step back from all his involvement at Red Bull, since his official exit announcement in May this year, he has opened up on why he decided to leave the Milton Keynes stable after spending nearly two decades with them.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on the High-Performance podcast, Newey first explained the reasoning behind him choosing Aston Martin as his next project. He stated that he ideally doesn’t wish to join an already successful team, as it may not give him a fresh challenge to work on.
A new era of Aston Martin
Coming in March 2025 #F1 pic.twitter.com/6APsLimdOB
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 10, 2024
Furthermore, the British designer elaborated on the changing dynamics at Red Bull. He said, “I started to feel as if we going a little bit stale. I think the guys also felt that perhaps they needed to show that they could do it on their own. So I thought well okay, let’s give them the chance and give myself a new challenge.”
There had been reports of the changing of guard at Red Bull concerning its technical leadership with Pierre Wache taking over as the technical director and having more influence on the RB20 than Newey. Moreover, the internal controversies around team principal Christian Horner and the reported power struggles were also not helping Newey’s desire to stay put, as per some paddock reports.
Now, the 65-year-old seems to be in the process of putting all the Red Bull baggage behind to start working with Aston Martin by March 2025. Newey spoke eloquently about Lawrence Stroll’s vision at the team’s Silverstone presser where they announced his arrival. The Briton is keen on taking up this new challenge that also comes with a mega five-year deal.
Newey reveals why he chose against retiring
Stroll deemed Newey as the biggest piece of the puzzle at Aston Martin. The Canadian business tycoon has been investing a lot of effort and money into making the British team into a championship-winning operation and Newey seems aligned with this dream.
However, at the age of 65, the Briton was also considering retirement. So, there is a notion that Newey may have chosen to sign up for Aston Martin’s project due to the big money that Stroll offered.
As per the latest reports, Newey will be earning a whopping $4,500 every hour in his role as Technical Managing Partner. This makes his annual salary $26.19 million and with bonuses, it will be near the $40 million amount BBC reported last week.
A New-ey partnership✍️#F1 @AstonMartinF1 pic.twitter.com/fyrLoA7Bg7
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 10, 2024
However, Newey is more focused on making a difference and helping Aston Martin become a championship-winning outfit, a goal he achieved with Red Bull in the early 2010s after joining the novice Austrian team in 2005-06. He stated that back then he certainly wouldn’t have thought about working beyond 60 or 65.
But now that he is 65, the feeling is different and he doesn’t wish to stop in his dream job. Newey said, “I don’t know maybe I am guilty of it, defining me too much and I worry about what I’d do if I didn’t do that. I don’t think that’s really the thing in my case. It’s more that I enjoy the challenge.”
