When Adrian Newey’s Red Bull departure was confirmed early into the 2024 season, many teams reportedly scrambled for his signature. Alpine too was in the mix and there were strong links between them until Newey’s new destination—Aston Martin—was revealed.
As it turned out, Alpine was never really a frontrunner, not because Newey didn’t want to join them but because the French squad didn’t think it was right to approach him. Flavio Briatore, former team principal of the Enstone squad, revealed that his side was not quite ‘ready’ for Newey, one of the greatest aerodynamicists of all time.
When Red Bull announced that Newey was leaving, Alpine was at the bottom of the table, struggling to get close to scoring points. “Adrian is an artist. We are not yet ready for someone like him,” said Briatore to AMuS.
BREAKING: Adrian Newey to join Aston Martin from 2025!#F1 @AstonMartinF1 pic.twitter.com/S90qYCipfp
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 10, 2024
The Italian, who had joined Alpine as an advisor earlier this year, added, “To benefit from him, you need to have the right team around him. Maybe we’ll be ready in two or three years. That’s why I never seriously talked to him.”
This is where Aston Martin excels. Owner Lawrence Stroll has built a strong foundation, including a state-of-the-art facility in Silverstone and a brand-new wind tunnel, all of which helped entice Newey to join them.
What to expect from Newey?
Newey played huge roles in the Championship-winning success of three F1 teams—McLaren, Williams, and Red Bull. But his hunger for a new challenge prompted him to leave the Milton-Keynes-based outfit and join Aston Martin, who are hungry for the title themselves.
However, it will take some time before Newey has any direct effect on the cars. He won’t be joining the Aston Martin squad until March 2025, which means he won’t have any direct role to play in the development of the 2025 car.
However, with Aston Martin set to go big in the building of its 2026 challenger under F1’s brand-new regulations, Newey could cook something special. It could finally help Stroll achieve his long-term ambition of seeing his team be crowned world champions.
