Since Lawrence Stroll took control of Team Silverstone in 2019, he has had one aim in mind: becoming World Champion. Purchasing stakes in Aston Martin, rebranding the team, singing Fernando Alonso, and investing in brand-new facilities are all steps he has taken to ensure that happens.
But the biggest key to success is arguably Adrian Newey.
The 66-year-old aerodynamicist, who has designed championship-winning cars for Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull, will join the team in March, ahead of the 2025 season, and it is widely expected that he will be the one who turns Aston Martin’s fortunes around, taking them from the midfield to the front of the pack.
However, for that, Jonathan Noble feels that Newey has to be kept away from any form of backstage drama.
“There’s no reason the magic can’t happen,” the reputed journalist said on The Race’s F1 podcast. “He will want to be isolated from politics and all the stuff that in the past, he has not particularly liked… Whether it was at Williams, whether it was McLaren, whether it was Red Bull…”
Fernando Alonso says new Aston Martin signing Adrian Newey is “more impactful than any driver” – including 7x F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton!
Do you agree with the 2005/6 world champ? pic.twitter.com/AIgEKyNAqQ
— Crash.net – Formula 1 (@CRASH_NET_F1) February 21, 2025
When it comes to brilliant minds on the grid, few compare to Newey. He shares almost the same fan craze as drivers do, which is why when his departure from Red Bull was announced in the summer of 2024, there was a huge buzz surrounding his new destination.
Aston Martin is fortunate to have landed the Briton. Now, they will hope he isn’t swayed by behind-the-scenes drama and tempted to leave. While Newey has always avoided the politics Noble warned about, his departures from previous teams suggest it has played a role in his exits.
Why Newey left his previous teams
Newey dislikes the tension that comes with power struggles in F1. As long as he gets what he’s promised and has a peaceful environment, he’s content — a pattern evident in his past departures.
At Williams, there were disagreements between Newey and the Grove outfit’s then-technical director, Patrick Head, over driver signings and other aspects such as engine choice. When the British designer decided to leave the team in 1997, Head wasn’t making his life easy.
At McLaren, Newey was dissatisfied with the team’s financial offer for his services. Around the same time, Christian Horner’s Red Bull presented him with a higher salary and an ambitious project to lead the Milton Keynes outfit to glory.
Newey jumped ship in 2005, turning Red Bull into the best team on the grid in the years that followed. But once again, politics got in the way, be it a couple of decades later.
While he never explicitly admitted it, the 2024 power struggle involving Horner, Helmut Marko, and Jos Verstappen at Red Bull likely played a role in his decision to leave. Publicly, he cited a desire for a change of environment.
For Aston Martin to retain him long-term, they must not only provide the right tools for success but also steer clear of controversy.
