F1 | Newey: “Aston Martin full time: I never talked about three days”

He hasn’t yet chosen where his office will be located inside Aston Martin’s futuristic headquarters in Silverstone, but Adrian Newey already has everything else figured out.

The first point he wanted to underline is related to his commitment and his presence in the team, no part-time or remote work, but rather work in the office for as long as necessary. “Changing teams is always a big commitment, at the beginning you have to try to understand how each collaborator works, how to interact in the best way, and it is a phase that requires time and commitment. I want to say that I will be completely involved in the project, I have to be. So far my summer has been a bit more demanding than Mandy (Newey’s wife) and I had expected. But from Thursday, we will go away, we will take a bit of vacation. When March 2 arrives (the date on which I will be able to be operational in Aston Martin) I will be completely rested and ready to go”.

The tone of voice is always Newey-like, that is, extremely low, but ‘Genius’ was very clear in wanting to clarify some aspects relating to his working relationship with Red Bull, starting with his reduced presence at the headquarters.
“I don’t know where the three-day week thing came from! It’s well known that in 2014 we were in a very difficult position because of the uncompetitive power unit, there was no light at the end of the tunnel. At that time I felt the need to do something else, and the Valkyrie project was born. When we got the Honda PU some time later I got involved again in the Formula 1 program.”

“Then, more recently, once the 2022 single-seater was completed, a demanding car given that it was created under new regulations, I took a step back. In the end, both the 2023 car and this year’s car are largely evolutions of the 2022. Today, however, I am facing a different challenge, I feel a great motivation and I am ready to do whatever it takes to get the best out of the team.”

Last June, news leaked of Newey’s visit to the Silverstone headquarters, a step he described as very important in the maturation of the choice to tie himself to Aston Martin. “It’s a very impressive facility, but I think the most important aspect is another. I think it’s a real demonstration of Lawrence’s commitment, it confirms his vision and where he wants the team to go.”

“I have no idea how much it cost but… I don’t think it was cheap! Obviously I was impressed by the facilities but also by the atmosphere inside, there’s a lot of Lawrence in this place. If I had to describe him in one sentence, I would say he’s a person with total conviction, he has no problem putting all his chips on black, and that’s what he’s doing.” “Let’s just say I put them on green,” Stroll Sr. quickly added.

The choice, made at the beginning of the summer, came after a period spent evaluating the proposals received from various teams, but ‘Genius’ cut it short. “I was very flattered by the number of teams that contacted me, I spoke with some of those teams, but not with all of them. In the end my choice was very clear and natural for many reasons”.

Adrian Newey, Managing Technical Partner Aston Martin F1 Team and Lawrence Stroll, Owner Aston Martin during the press conference

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Newey revealed that the decision to leave Red Bull was made during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend. A choice made without thinking too much about the future.
“I had no idea what was going to happen, I remember we were in Suzuka, and I just wanted to have a clear mind, take stock of the situation and enjoy a little break. I was hoping that standing in the shower would make the spark fly. Mandy played a big role in this period, I also think she was worried that I would drive her crazy if I stayed home too long!”

“So towards the end of June I said to myself that I have always wanted to be involved in racing as a designer, it has been my ambition since I was 10 years old, and I have been lucky enough to be able to do that. Maybe it is an exaggeration to say that I have enjoyed every single day of my career, but let’s say well over 90%! But above all I still love the challenge of trying to add performance to a car, that is my main motivation, that is what gets me out of bed in the morning.”

“One of the things that I find beautiful about my job is that you can have immediate feedback on how you are doing, whether you are on the right track or not. Sometimes you can get bad news, but you always have feedback. I talk to a lot of my friends from university who I am still in touch with, some of them have gone to work at British Aerospace, the Rolls-Royce engine department and so on, and they tell me they never get any feedback. So, in the end I think I chose well, I didn’t realise it at the time when I made it, but working in this sport takes you to the pinnacle of the relationship between man and machine. I am still interested in the America’s Cup, I am still interested in many other things, but the pinnacle of the relationship between man and machine is still Formula 1”.