Adrian Newey signed with Red Bull in 2006 and announced his exit from the team in 2024. The aerodynamic genius spent close to two decades with the team and designed multiple championship-winning cars. However, it all began with Christian Horner’s paddock walk.
According to the Talking Bull podcast, Newey mentioned that the conversations with Horner in the paddock convinced him to make the risky Red Bull move. He said “Christian made a habit of just happening to be walking the opposite way down the paddock and bumping into me, so we started talking. I thought, well, it’s a big challenge. It’s a huge career risk, but one I feel up for.”
️ | Adrian Newey looking back at how he joined Red Bull in the beginning
“When I was at McLaren before Red Bull we had a good little car in 2005, we won 10 races, but I just felt a bit stale at McLaren. I felt like I needed a new challenge.
So I started looking around and… pic.twitter.com/ZwEYXc1fpw
— RBR News (@redbulletin) August 14, 2024
Newey explained that McLaren had a good car in 2005 and won 10 races. However, the mastermind needed a new challenge in life as things felt stale at McLaren. Just then, David Coulthard had a chat with Newey regarding Red Bull. Eventually, with the paddock walks, Horner was able to secure Newey’s services.
Red Bull bought the Jaguar racing team and joined the grid in 2005. However, the performance wasn’t there. Newey’s arrival changed the fortunes of the team. With a couple of years of Newey coming in, Red Bull won its first race in 2009. A year later, they were the F1 champions.
Although the reason for the Red Bull exit is ambiguous, some reports suggest it was a mix of the power struggle at the team and Newey wanting a new challenge. The new challenge might just have something to do with Aston Martin, who are eager to emulate what Red Bull have achieved.
Newey’s Aston Martin deal reportedly confirmed with the announcement coming soon
Newey was linked to roughly every team on the grid after his Red Bull exit news came out. However, Ferrari and Aston Martin were the real contenders left in the past two months. Reports of Newey visiting the new Aston Martin facility also fueled these rumors.
According to sources, Newey has already signed a deal with Aston Martin which will be announced in September. The contract is believed to be worth $100 million over three years. The salary is twice what Red Bull was reportedly paying the mastermind.
The Aston Martin move will reunite Newey with his prodigy Dan Fallows and fulfill his dream of working with Fernando Alonso. Furthermore, the aerodynamicist will not have to move countries, which was reported as a top priority for him.
