Priestley’s F1 career at McLaren began after gaining experience in F3 and F3000 teams. In 2000, he received the call from McLaren to become a test team #2 mechanic. A year later, he was promoted to the race team in the same position, which he held until 2006. In 2007, he was appointed as the #1 mechanic before eventually becoming McLaren’s race team Chief Mechanic in 2008. However, he left the team in 2009.
Newey spent some time at Woking drawing McLaren F1 cars after a period of gardening leave from Williams. He then joined the team led by Ron Dennis from 1997 to 2005. Following his time at McLaren, Newey left to join Red Bull.
Newey’s impressive record in F1 car design speaks for itself. Priestley had the opportunity to work under Newey’s guidance on design matters at McLaren for five seasons. In an interview this week, Priestley shared a story from his time working with Newey: “I worked with Adrian throughout the 2000s until he left McLaren. So from 2000 to 2005. I remember when he actually left the team and joined Red Bull. He is an incredible individual with an unparalleled attention to detail. Let me tell you a story. I recall working on a car that Adrian had designed at McLaren years ago. We had this enormous bargeboard or deflector on the side of the car, with the suspension running through the middle of it. I thought it would be practical to put a small slot in the deflector to make it easier to replace when damaged. However, Adrian insisted that there should be no slot in the deflector. This meant that we had to remove the entire front suspension to attach the board, which was a time-consuming process. I remember feeling frustrated one day while working on this task, and Adrian walked past.”
Marc (pictured above during his time at McLaren) continued: “Adrian, I said, just come and have a look at this and asked ‘when you’re creating these things, how much of your focus is on practicality and considering people like me who work on his car, as opposed to pure performance?’ He replied with zero.
“It’s all about performance,” he said. And although it was frustrating for me, I have a great respect for that. That’s what drives Adrian. It’s what has led to the creation of these incredible cars over the years because of his meticulous attention to detail, going above and beyond what most people would do,” explained Priestley.
Newey’s departure from Red Bull will mark the end of a significant era. Throughout his 20 years with the team, Newey has built an exceptionally efficient design team. However, his immense influence, experience, and reputation as the foremost technical thinker in modern F1 will be missed by any team.
Priestley speculated: “I believe Red Bull will lose that. And someone else will potentially gain it. He is undoubtedly a loss. Yes, he is nearing the end of his career there, but Red Bull will be fine. They have a fantastic team of individuals.
“It’s not just about Adrian. At Red Bull, many people have contributed to their success. They excel in nearly every aspect. They will be alright. However, there’s no denying that it will be a loss for Red Bull and a gain for someone else.”
The question everyone is eagerly awaiting an answer to: Will Newey join Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari next year? Italy seems to think so and reports suggest that an announcement was supposed to be made after Miami. Allegedly, the British designer and Ferrari team principal Fred Vassuer met in London last week to finalize the deal. We will have to wait and see.
Until then, Priestley shared his thoughts on a potential Newey farewell at Ferrari: “I would love to see it. I believe he will show up somewhere else. He mentioned over the weekend that he wants to take a break and travel with his wife after leaving Red Bull, and I understand that.
“But he has also managed to negotiate his way out of the gardening leave period. You don’t do that unless you have hopes of joining another team in the sport. There is a major regulation change on the horizon. Those are the things that truly excite people like Adrian Newey.
“If he can join a new team, and if it happens to be Ferrari, that would be wonderful. But even if it’s in the beginning of 2025 or somewhere in 2025, he will have the opportunity to play a significant role in the design process for the major change in 2026,” predicted Priestley.