Adrian Newey Was “Half an Hour” Away From Joining Ferrari; Red Bull Boss Explains How He Saved the Team

Adrian Newey has had an integral role in Red Bull’s success including designing six championship-winning cars, bringing his total to 25. However, in 2016, a crucial moment unfolded as the renowned aerodynamicist contemplated leaving the team to join Ferrari. Nevertheless, Christian Horner has recently revealed the strategic move that persuaded Newey to stay with the Milton Keynes side.

In a recent interview on the Eff Won podcast, Horner revealed that Adrian Newey was on the brink of leaving the team, expressing an interest in joining Ferrari. He said, “Adrian was also very close, he was about half an hour away from making his decision.” 

Subsequently, Horner revealed his strategy, intending to extend similar offers that Ferrari had made to entice Newey. He said, “I kept him with us by promising him that we would also design a passenger car. ‘If you want to design a car, we will do it,’ I told him.”

When Newey inquired about the specifics of this assurance, Horner responded that he had an ‘Aston Martin’ solution. Horner said, “We had a relationship with Aston Martin. I went to their CEO and said we have the best designer of all time, they have a great brand. We were not going to finance the car, but it made sense to put it together like this.”

In the end, the enticing prospect of designing a road car, which once prompted the British designer to contemplate leaving Red Bull, has become a reality. Newey now plays a crucial role in crafting the Aston Martin Valkyrie, recognized as the fastest street-legal car. This hybrid sports car is the result of a collaboration between Aston Martin Lagonda and Red Bull Racing Advanced Technologies.

However, the Red Bull boss has revealed that the significant financial commitment to the Valkyrie has strained Aston Martin’s finances. He said, “He [Newey] created an incredible, incredible car, that almost bankrupted Aston Martin!”

How did Christian Horner’s strategic move to retain Adrian Newey prove to be a masterstroke?

Christian Horner’s committed efforts in propelling Red Bull to success influenced a crucial choice overlooked by Ferrari which was securing Adrian Newey at any expense. While the Red Bull team principal pledged to fulfill every facility the esteemed aerodynamicist desired, Ferrari failed to match, resulting in a significant mistake. Notably, former Ferrari manager Peter Windsor expressed similar sentiments in a recent conversation on his YouTube channel.

He said, “Talking about the stupidity of all the other teams and how one man, Adrian Newey, has made everybody else look ridiculous. If only Ferrari had the brains to hire Adrian, eight years ago, even seven years or six years ago, pay him two billion or whatever it was, they would have got all their money back.”

Considering this Red Bull’s gamble on Adrian Newey proved fruitful. Despite the challenges the team faced post Sebastian Vettel’s dominance, Red Bull recovered from those by 2019. Amid Mercedes’s dominance, Newey steadily developed the technical advantage the Austrian outfit needed to be at the top of F1.

Eventually, in 2021, the Briton’s efforts along with the entire team’s persistence paid off. After dethroning the Silver Arrows, the RB18 and RB19, both designed by Newey, have been delivering ruthless performances on the track in the past two seasons. Together, these cars have secured victory in 38 out of 44 races.

The dominance is so significant that even Horner conceded the impossibility of replicating such success. During his interview with Racingnew365.com Horner said, “To repeat a season like this, it is a golden one. To do better than we’re doing? I think it’s impossible.”