Adrian Newey’s departure from Red Bull comes amidst significant off-track drama for the dominant Formula 1 team. Throughout his career, Newey’s exits from teams have been marked by unusual and seismic circumstances. These events have been extensively covered in our Bring Back V10s classic F1 stories podcast series over the past four years. For a comprehensive exploration of these stories and the memories of our panelists, we invite you to listen to the full episodes below.
In his book How to Build a Car, Newey reflects on the self-doubt he experienced during his time at Leyton House in 1989 and early 1990. Despite struggling to match the success of the ultra-dominant McLarens in 1988, Newey’s career trajectory has since proven his initial doubts to be unfounded. His departure from Leyton House coincided with the temporary improvement of the team’s car.
Newey was aware of the fundamental problems with the 1989 car and attempted to create a “desensitized” version of its successor. However, the new car proved to be just as problematic, resulting in Leyton House failing to qualify in six out of the first six races of 1990. The discovery of a disparity between data from Leyton House’s wind tunnel and the new Comtec tunnel deepened the confusion. This led Newey to identify a bowed rolling road floor in the Southampton tunnel, which caused the car to sit above a concave surface. As a result, the diffuser was unloaded, leading to the development of an aggressive shape that proved ineffective in reality. Newey embarked on a process of redesigning key components, including the diffuser, while also addressing aero separation underneath the front wing.
During this period, Leyton House owner Akira Akagi faced financial difficulties and brought in a new financial director, Simon Keeble. Keeble expressed doubts about Newey’s abilities and clashed with him regularly. Despite their disagreements, Keeble eventually agreed to invest in Newey’s design work. Meanwhile, Newey received an offer from Williams to become their head of research and development.
Before he could resign from Leyton House, Newey was effectively dismissed by Keeble, who informed him that the team was hiring Chris Murphy as the new technical director. Newey was given the option to either leave or accept a lesser role within the team. Keeble described the team as being in a dire state following their double failure to qualify in Mexico.
However, Leyton House’s fortunes changed dramatically at the Paul Ricard circuit. Both cars qualified in the top 10, thanks to the impact of Newey’s new diffuser and the benefits of a resurfaced track. Ivan Capelli and Mauricio Gugelmin finished first and second, respectively, after employing a bold no-stop strategy. Although Gugelmin retired due to an engine failure, Capelli secured a second-place finish behind Alain Prost’s Ferrari. Keeble acknowledged Newey’s contributions to the design changes that revitalized Leyton House’s performance but also expressed his desire to build a strong team rather than relying solely on one person.
While Newey took pride in the team’s success, he couldn’t help but wonder what could have been if he had maintained the upper hand over Keeble politically. However, he recognized that Keeble’s presence was a result of Akagi’s financial troubles. Akagi’s eventual arrest in 1991 and the team’s subsequent rebranding as March led to its eventual demise.
Newey’s promotion to chief designer at Williams came with high expectations, but cracks in his relationship with Frank Williams and Patrick Head began to surface. Newey was dissatisfied with how Nigel Mansell was treated by the team, leading to his departure from F1 at the end of the 1992 season. When Newey signed his contract extension in 1993, it included clauses granting him a say in major decisions, including driver selection. However, these agreements were not honored, and Newey felt that he was being taken advantage of. Despite offers from McLaren, Newey decided to stay at Williams.
The strained relationship between Newey and Williams continued to deteriorate. Newey was disappointed when he was offered a pay cut for a new contract in 2001. Feeling undervalued, he considered leaving for Jaguar, but ultimately decided against it. The announcement of his potential move to Jaguar caused confusion and eventually led to an agreement for him to stay at McLaren. However, the fallout from this incident set the stage for Newey’s eventual departure from McLaren in 2005 to join the newly-formed Red Bull team.
Newey’s arrival at Red Bull marked a turning point for the team, as they transitioned from being seen as a party team to a serious contender. The opportunity to be part of a team from its early stages appealed to Newey, as it felt like unfinished business after his experience at Leyton House. His departure from McLaren prompted the creation of a new management structure to prevent the team from becoming overly reliant on one individual.
In conclusion, Newey’s career has been marked by significant departures from various teams, each with its own unique circumstances. Despite facing challenges and setbacks, his talent and contributions have consistently shaped the trajectory of Formula 1 teams.