Lawrence Stroll may be described as a braggart and his extravagance reaches limits that most would consider almost ridiculous, but no one can deny his persuasiveness, probably a quality that he developed during his time in the fashion world, before landing in a big way in racing, first, and then in the automotive industry. The Canadian businessman bought Force India (2018) so that his son, Lance, would have something to do. After renaming it Racing Point (2019), he converted it into Aston Martin (2021), after paying more than 2 billion euros for a share package of the car brand popularized by James Bond. Later (2023) he convinced Fernando Alonso to join the project as a replacement for Sebastian Vettel, and now, after renewing the agreement with the Asturian, he has achieved something that a year ago would have sounded like madness. Stroll has managed to charm Adrian Newey, the most renowned engineer in Formula 1 today – seven titles out of a possible 14 – and who on May 1 announced his departure from Red Bull at the end of this season to join the Silverstone team (Great Britain). The tycoon has got it into his head to win whatever the cost, and if one thing has become clear it is that he will not spare any expense to at least try.
This morning, Stroll and Newey appeared at the presentation of the latter by Aston Martin. “This is the most important news in the history of this team. Adrian Newey is the best in the world at what he does. He is a winner, a competitor and has the passion and desire. We started this team six years ago with a similar spirit. There is no other Formula 1 team with this future,” said Stroll at the beginning of the presentation event. The Aston Martin boss said that although he had been following Newey’s steps for some time, it was not until he found out that he was leaving Red Bull that he contacted him. “As soon as we heard about Adrian’s availability, we knew we had to get him. Our initial conversations confirmed that it was a shared desire to collaborate on a unique opportunity,” he added.
Newey, for his part, said that it took him “a little while” to make the decision, after so many years at Red Bull. “I thought I needed to do something different, we started to discuss what to do and it took a little while. You have to be honest with yourself and I believed in this new challenge. Lawrence has an enthusiasm and commitment that makes him very persuasive. In this modern era, Lawrence is someone unique. He was a natural choice for me,” said Newey in his first words. The now new technical director of the team also had kind words about Fernando Alonso: “He is a legend of this sport and I am looking forward to working with him.” The Asturian, for his part, has described Newey as an “inspiration.” “We all had to raise the level to be able to compete with him. For me it will be an incredible opportunity to work with Adrian in this team of which I am so proud,” he added.
Tuesday’s announcement closes a chapter of months of speculation surrounding Newey’s fate, who was initially linked to Ferrari. However, the Scuderiawhich is preparing to welcome Lewis Hamilton next year, did not want to enter into an exchange of bids with Aston Martin, which would only have made costs skyrocket at a time when investment is more controlled than ever. In addition to the economic factor, the genius of aerodynamics has always made clear its reluctance to set up outside the United Kingdom. A visit to the futuristic facilities at Silverstone, with an obligatory stop at the new wind tunnel that should be ready imminently.
With Newey, the British team has acquired the most coveted piece in the technical market, and one of the most influential in the history of the competition, in which it has won titles with Williams, McLaren and, more recently, Red Bull. This last stage, precisely, closes after the scandal that shook the energy team at the beginning of this year, with the accusation of harassment towards Christian Horner, the director of the Milton Keynes team, by one of his subordinates. The matter, which involved an internal investigation and was resolved with the exoneration of the executive and the dismissal of the worker, wreaked havoc on the top of the energy company, divided since then, and which has seen how several key elements of its structure signed for the competition. The officialization of Newey’s incorporation with a view to 2025 comes exactly when his obligations with Red Bull begin to be minimal. Coincident or not, his retirement coincides with the worst moment of the current champions’ form, who have recently seen Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari outperform them in performance and strategy.
The engineer, born in 1958 in Stratford-upon-Avon, will join Aston Martin with the mission of revitalizing a team that took everyone by surprise. paddock in 2023, following the recruitment of specialists such as Dan Fallows, the technical director, from Red Bull; and Eric Blandin, from Mercedes. In just one year, the green cars went from occupying seventh place in the statistics reserved for the constructors, to fifth, with a series of eight podiums, all of them signed by Alonso.
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