Formula 1 car designer extraordinaire Adrian Newey to join Aston Martin after leaving Red Bull

SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Adrian Newey, Formula One’s most influential car designer, will join Aston Martin in March 2025 after leaving Red Bull, ending months of speculation about a backroom figure who seemed more sought-after than any other driver.

Newey spent almost two decades at Red Bull and is widely credited with leading the team to F1 dominance. He now joins a team with big ambitions to challenge for the title and the backing of billionaire Lawrence Stroll – but has yet to win a race.

Newey will take on a new role as “managing technical partner” in time to help shape how Aston Martin responds to new regulations for Formula One cars that come into force in 2026. He will also become a shareholder in the team.

Newey said he and Stroll met while training in the gym during F1 race weekends in Asia. Newey visited Aston Martin’s new headquarters in June, when Stroll was close to signing a contract that the Canadian billionaire called “further evidence of our ambition to build a Formula One team capable of challenging for the world championship.”

“You have to be honest with yourself and keep yourself fit, so I felt I needed a new challenge,” Newey said.

He added that Stroll’s hands-on approach as an owner was an “old-school model” that reminded him of his former bosses at teams such as Williams and McLaren, which won titles in the 1990s with cars designed by Newey.

“I was very honored to receive many offers from different teams, but it was really Lawrence’s passion, commitment and enthusiasm that was so engaging and compelling.”

The last time the regulations underwent a major change, with the return of ‘ground effect’ aerodynamics for 2022, it was Newey’s Red Bull that dominated, with Max Verstappen winning the championship. Newey had a lifetime of experience to draw on, having written his thesis on ground effect in the 1980s, when it was first used in F1.

Aston Martin’s drivers are Fernando Alonso, a two-time champion, and Lance Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence Stroll. Newey said he knew Lance Stroll from his teenage years when he competed against Newey’s son in Formula 3, and said Alonso seemed “somewhat of an arch-enemy at times” when he was battling for victories against Newey’s previous employers.

Newey joined Red Bull in 2006 and helped the team win seven drivers’ championships – including the last three seasons with Verstappen – and six constructors’ championships.

Red Bull said in May that its technical director would step back from Formula One design to focus on the RB17 production car. He will leave the company in the first quarter of 2025.

The announcement comes ahead of this week’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix and at a time when Red Bull’s dominance of Formula 1 appears to be waning.

Max Verstappen — who recently called his Red Bull car a “monster” — and his team-mate Sergio Perez have failed to win any of their last six races, the team’s longest defeat since 2020, while McLaren and Mercedes now appear to have faster cars.

Newey’s departure is also part of a wider exodus of senior Red Bull staff during the season, which began amid a legal turmoil when team principal Christian Horner was accused of inappropriate conduct by an employee. Red Bull’s parent company dismissed the complaint against Horner and the appeal was dismissed last month.

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