The aero-god Adrian Newey chose Aston Martin after several teams in the paddock sought his services following his announcement of parting ways with Red Bull. Newey reasoned that the liberty he would get at Silverstone lured him into the move. But at the same time, Fernando Alonso revealed he also made efforts to bring Newey to the team.
Despite Newey working for three F1 teams and winning countless Championships, he never got to work with Alonso, who is undoubtedly among the greatest drivers of all time. The Brit, on a few occasions, has also counted it as one of his regrets.
Alonso too had the same feeling about never working with Newey as he believes it could have boosted his Championship haul, which is currently at two. That’s why the Spaniard took it into his own hands and initially enquired his bosses whether they had “contacted” Newey.
Can Adrian Newey help Fernando Alonso win his third world championship? pic.twitter.com/LJIXwKppvN
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“I even contacted him myself. I have his phone number and wrote him a text: ‘What a surprise. If you ever fancy a new challenge, I would like to work with you,'” said Alonso to Motorsport-Total.
“I even contacted him myself. I have his phone number and wrote him a text: ‘What a surprise. If you ever fancy a new challenge, I would like to work with you,'” said Alonso.
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Ultimately, things escalated and Aston Martin managed to hire Newey. Alonso informed all this while he was kept in a loop by team owner Lawrence Stroll.
Alonso was ready to contribute through his salary
In September, when Newey was unveiled as the new member of Aston Martin, Alonso couldn’t hide his excitement and had a broad smile throughout the event.
The two-time world champion was also willing to take a significant pay cut if it would facilitate Newey’s arrival. “He was even saying that he will pay [part] of his wages to pay Adrian. There was a talk about 10 percent, 20 percent,” said team principal Mike Krack.
Aston Martin didn’t go ahead with Alonso’s proposal and got Newey’s services on their own financial prowess. However, there was a catch. Newey can’t join Aston Martin before March 2025. So, he would be unable to contribute to the build of next year’s car.
Furthermore, he would have to rush on his work on the new regulations, as all teams would be allowed to work on it from January 2025. So, the initial months in Silverstone could prove to be challenging and hectic for Newey.
