Adrian Newey almost left Red Bull in 2014
Adrian Newey, a key player in Red Bull's dominance, has no plans to leave the project in which he has been involved for 17 years.
He has been the symbol of Red Bull for over 10 years. Adrian Newey, aged 64, is a British engineer. He joined the Austrian team in 2006, after successful stints at Williams and then McLaren. As a designer of single-seaters for both teams, Adrian Newey has enabled his teams to win six constructors’ titles.
« When I joined Williams and McLaren, they were two large teams that had won races and championships well before my arrival, so there was very little to do on the infrastructure side. It was really just trying to bring something on the design side », explained the Briton. « That’s why I joined Red Bull. It was risky for my career at the time, but I wanted to be involved again from the start in the development of a team. »
key player of the Red Bull eras
Once at Red Bull, after four seasons, the Brit allows Red Bull to be untouchable for three seasons. From 2010 to 2013, the Austrian garage, thanks to Adrian Newey, was the team that best understood the ground effect. Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel thus achieve a triple.
Nine seasons after supremacy, the red bull has once again become the undisputed leader. The introduction of ground effect single-seaters in 2022 has made Red Bull the only title candidate, well ahead of the rest of the pack. The car was largely designed by Adrian Newey.
For several seasons, the engineer has been less involved in the ongoing work of design. However, he remains a key player for Red Bull, and even though he has the green light to turn to other projects, Adrian Newey has no intention of leaving his position. « From the start, I’ve been involved in the project with Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, so why should I distance myself from the project? », said the sixty-year-old.
An imagined departure in 2014
During his career at Red Bull, Adrian Newey almost left the team in 2014, in favor of Mercedes. The engineer explains that there was a lack of concrete ambition from the group for the future of the project. However, he ultimately stayed with the Austrian team. « The only time a departure was close was in 2014, and for completely different reasons », he recounted. « At that time, we had a power unit that was not performing, which of course happens. There didn’t seem to be a huge desire from the manufacturer at the highest level, not from the guys in the factory but at the highest level, to invest to reverse the situation. So, you then find yourself in a somewhat depressing position where, as we all know, to win championships, you need to have the three key factors: the driver, the chassis and the engine – and if one of these elements is weak, you won’t win. »
If the German rival has established a supremacy of 7 seasons, since the regulation of 2022, it is Red Bull and the cars designed by Adrian Newey that have taken over. Max Verstappen is a triple World Champion in title and Red Bull is a double winning constructor.
