Adrian Newey’s signing by the Aston Martin team has been hailed by team owner Lawrence Stroll as the “most exciting news” in the squad’s history.
The final confirmation, which came during a press conference at the team’s Silverstone factory on Thursday, ends a period of intense speculation about the design legend’s future – with no shortage of competitors trying to convince him to come on board.
But despite overtures from Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams, Alpine and McLaren throughout that spell after his departure from Red Bull was made clear, it was Aston Martin that came out on top.
During a 40-minute press conference at Aston Martin’s Silverstone factory on Tuesday where Newey and Stroll took the stage, the key factors that sealed the deal became pretty clear.
Feeling valued
After Newey had made his mind up at the Japanese Grand Prix to leave Red Bull, he was undecided in his head about what he wanted to do.
Initially, he and his wife Amanda had their sights set on a proper break from F1 – even potentially one that proved permanent and meant he never came back to F1.
But it was the interest that his Red Bull exit prompted, and especially the way that teams fell at his feet to try to get him on board, that proved critical in moving him away from a potential sabbatical and straight back at it.
Adrian Newey, Aston Martin Racing Team
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
From chats in hotel gyms with Stroll, to being offered attractive terms for a project that he felt enthused about, there is no doubt that Newey has been inspired by feeling truly valued.
And nothing perhaps proved that more than Aston Martin choosing to hold a full-on press conference for the announcement – rather than send out a simple brief press release.
And Newey will have further been enthused by the positive words that Stroll offered.
“Well Adrian is arguably the greatest in the world at what he does,” he said. “There’s nobody who’s come close to winning as many world championships.
“He’s a gentleman, he’s a winner, he’s a competitor, and he has the passion and desire to win, as do I and most of the people in this building.”
And as Newey himself said about the man who convinced him to join: “Lawrence’s passion and commitment and enthusiasm is very endearing. It’s very persuasive.”
Going full in at the start of a journey
While Newey had plenty of options up and down the F1 grid, one element that has emerged as important to him is something that is true throughout his career: joining a project at the start of its journey.
Through Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, he joined teams during building phases and helped take them on to world championship glory – he did not join them when they were already at their peak.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, Adrian Newey, Lawrence Stroll, Owner, Aston Martin F1 Team, and Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
This element of moving a project forward was clearly a big motivation, and feeling a part of a huge project has enthused him hugely.
While there had been talk of Newey only wanting part-time commitment in F1 in his next career chapter, he labelled as incorrect suggestions he only wanted to work three days per week at Red Bull.
He explained that him not working flat out on Red Bull’s F1 programme was the result of circumstance – of the team being a mature organisation and him having been engaged in other projects like the Aston Martin Valkyrie and RB17.
He sees the demands and what is expected of him from Aston Martin as being different.
“It is that fresh challenge, that new stimulation,” he said. “I always do what I feel is needed for the best of the team.”
In fact, the sense of value that he has received from the team, has re-ignited a competitive spark – and he is clear he is going all-in.
“Obviously I want to be in the centre of everything,” he said. “Moving teams is always a big commitment to try to understand how everybody works, to engage with them and kind of be involved in shaping things if necessary. It takes time and takes commitment. So for sure, once I start, I will be fully in – I need to be, I have to be.”
An old-school team owner
When he first took to stage at Silverstone, Newey offered a simple one-word answer as to why he had picked Aston Martin: “Lawrence.”
Indeed when it comes to a larger-than-life personality of someone passionate about the task at hand, and willing to put their money where their mouth is, then few can match Stroll.
Adrian Newey, Aston Martin Formula One Team, Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman, Aston Martin Formula One Team
Photo by: Aston Martin Racing
But it wasn’t just the personality and ambition of Stroll that won Newey over. There was another important element that was referenced several times, and that is Stroll being an old-school team owner.
Just as Newey had been inspired and thrived in direct contact with Dietrich Mateschitz at Red Bull, Ron Dennis at McLaren and Frank Williams at Williams, so too he sees a bit of history repeating with a boss who is not just an employee.
“The reality is, if you go back 20 years, then what we now call team principals are actually the owners of the teams,” he said. “Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Eddie Jordan, etc.
“In this modern era, Lawrence is actually unique in being the only properly active team owner. It’s a different feeling when you have somebody like Lawrence involved like that, it’s back to the old school model.”
Newey said he and Stroll had regularly talked over the years – in fact there were comments that this had been a three-year project in the making – with talks taking place at various places including at hotel gyms around the world.
That secret factory visit
One of the chapters of the story of how Aston Martin won over Newey was a much talked about ‘secret’ factory visit that he had of the Silverstone factory early one Sunday morning in June – with staff having been told to stay away.
It was a moment for Stroll to show off exactly what he was building at Silverstone, and offer a glimpse of the potential that the Aston Martin squad could have over the long term.
Adrian Newey and Lawrence Stroll, Owner, Aston Martin F1 Team
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
It was interesting therefore that in the official press release announcing Newey’s signing, reference was made to how important this visit was for convincing the designer.
It said: “A private tour of the team’s brand-new AMR Technology Campus in June – a tangible demonstration of the team’s limitless ambition – proved a decisive factor in the decision-making process.”
But it was not just the fact that Aston Martin was building some state-of-the-art facilities (which included a new wind tunnel) that proved so critical – what Newey liked was the way things were being constructed.
“It’s not an easy thing to do to build a brand new factory in a greenfield site and have it have a really nice, warm, creative feel to it,” he said.
“After all, that’s what we’re here for, to try to be creative and to come up with good solutions, and particularly with good communication between everybody that works here.”
And in what was almost certainly a reference to the McLaren Technology Centre that was crafted in the vision of former owner Ron Dennis, Newey added: “I’ve seen some new buildings that haven’t quite fulfilled that, but this one is it has a great feel.
“The proportions are right. It has all the facilities. So yes, you’re absolutely right. I’m so looking forward to starting to getting to know everybody here, to work with them and go from there.”
Shareholding
One interesting element to the press announcement of Newey’s capture by Aston Martin was that he was to become a shareholder of the team.
In the past, especially in the immediate aftermath of his departure from Williams to McLaren in the late 1990s, it had been suggested that one element that could have stopped him moving was team owners Frank Williams and Patrick Head offering him a stake in the squad.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
So beyond what is likely to be a pretty hefty Aston Martin salary – rumoured to be in the region of $25-$30 million per year with bonuses – is the promise of a shareholding in the Aston Martin team itself. This provides him with a level of security and commitment that he has never had in F1 before.
“To have the chance to be a shareholder and a partner is something that has never really been offered to me before,” he said. “So it’s a slightly different slant. It’s one I’m very much looking forward to. It became a very natural choice.”
