Adrian Newey recently discussed why Red Bull decided to pursue their $6.2 million hypercar project on their own. Although the Milton Keynes-based team had formed a partnership with Aston Martin initially to develop the Valkyrie, they ultimately got frustrated by the Silverstone-based side and wanted to produce their own hypercar.
When asked about the same on the most recent episode of the Talking Bulls podcast, Newey replied, “We were working with a partner (Aston Martin), which can bring its frustrations. So, I think we all thought collectively that it would be great to do our own car and be a pure Red Bull“.
Red Bull indeed worked tirelessly to get the Valkyrie project up and running. However, the project was not short of its controversies. Aston Martin faced a whopping $190,000,000 lawsuit while undertaking this project.
The team had initially tried to secure the finances by partnering with Nebula Project AG. However, since Lawrence Stroll backed out, Aston Martin faced several lawsuits.
Since Aston Martin was Red Bull’s partner, the Milton Keynes-based team also faced the brunt of the troubles. Hence, Red Bull ultimately decided to go their own way and produce their $6.2 million worth of hypercar, the RB17. Since Red Bull’s hypercar is one of a kind, the company has decided to sell only 50 units to maximize revenue.
As for the Valkyrie, the project was still a success despite all the chaos surrounding it. After all, Aston Martin has decided to field the Valkyrie in the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans event.
Aston Martin’s Valkyrie will compete in endurance racing
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is arguably the biggest endurance race that takes place in the world. Hence, for Aston Martin, it will be an honor to field their Valkyrie hypercar in this event and have a chance to fight for victory.
However, Aston Martin’s plans for the Valkyrie do not just stop at Le Mans. As per their press release, they will also field their Valkyrie in the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships starting in 2025.
Lawrence Stroll, the executive chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, expressed how happy he was to make this announcement back in October last year. The Canadian businessman said,
“We have been present at Le Mans since the earliest days, and through those glorious endeavors we succeeded in winning Le Mans in 1959 and our class 19 times over the past 95 years. Now we return to the scene of those first triumphs aiming to write new history with a racing prototype inspired by the fastest production car Aston Martin has ever built“.
The hype for the Valkyrie increased all the more after three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen also drove it. Although the Dutchman did get in trouble with the police on one occasion while driving the hypercar, the ease with which he drove it certainly seemed to impress the fans.
Hence, there is no doubt that the Valkyrie project ended up being a huge success despite all the controversies that took place earlier. While Aston Martin has big plans moving forward with their hypercar, they need to be wary of their former partner, Red Bull. There is a chance that the Milton Keynes-based outfit could field their RB17 to battle the Valkyrie in one of the upcoming endurance championship races.
