Andretti Takes Some Credit for Red Bull Mastermind Adrian Newey’s 25-Championship Heavy Career

Max Verstappen‘s unprecedented run of success recently has once again brought the spotlight on Adrian Newey. The 26-year-old may well be having a golden run, but it’s not the first time Newey is experiencing such success. Mario Andretti, who has previously worked with Newey, has always held the 65-year-old in high regard and has now also taken some credit for his 25 champonships. The 83-year-old recently lauded Newey’s ability to bring added value to teams and drivers. He also highlighted what makes him so special – “his brain”.

Andretti vividly recalls the 1987 season when Newey was his race engineer. He remembers dominating a number of races that year including the coveted Indianapolis 500. Sadly, after leading 170 laps, he suffered a valve spring failure that led him to retire from the race. The former F1 champion, however, only recalls the good memories shared with Newey.

Playfully, he even takes credit for Newey’s F1 success. In a recent interview with F1 Maximaal, Andretti said, “I played a crucial role in him being brought onto the Newman/Haas team that year. And everything that happened after that is history. Every team he joined since then went on to win a world title.”

Andretti still shares a special bond with the Red Bull engineer. He lauds the racing community for it, dubbing it “one big family”.

Adrian Newey once gave his thoughts on a myth

Adrian Newey’s success over the years gave birth to a myth – that the aerodynamic genius can see the airflow while designing a car. In an interview with BBC in November, Newey revealed that it was not true only to admit that he can actually visualize such things in his “mind’s eye”.

He said, “I can picture it. And if I try to be objective, that’s perhaps one of my strengths – that I can actually picture things well in my mind’s eye.” That journey, he admits, started at a very young age.

The 65-year-old recalls having a lot of time on his hands during childhood. As an 11-year-old, he would picture a race car, sketch it, and create a 3D model of the concept using metal and fiberglass. While he confesses to having no idea what he was doing back then, he believes those days helped him develop the expertise that the 10,000-hour rule theory proposes.

He displays a great deal of humility while narrating the story, though admitting the ability to visualize airflow is not novel to just himself. Newey believes he got the ability through the mathematicians and engineers from his father’s side and the artistic skills from his mother’s. However, he feels there are several others who possess the ability to do what he does.