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Adrian Newey

Adrian Newey is the Chief Technical Officer at the Red Bull Racing F1 team. The Briton is renowned as the most successful designer in Formula 1. Read the latest news about Adrian Newey on RacingNews365.com!

About Adrian Newey

Newey was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, on December 26, 1958. Adrian's father was a veterinarian, and his mother was an ambulance driver during World War II. During his youth, he attended a local public school alongside former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson. After studying aeronautical engineering at the University of Southampton, Newey joined the Formula 1 teams of Fittipaldi and March. Shortly after, he moved to the United States, where he achieved his first successes. His design of the March sports car won the GTP class in the ISMA championship in both 1983 and 1984. The IndyCar project for which Newey was responsible, the March 85C, became the championship-winning car and also crossed the finish line first at the Indianapolis 500. The successor to the 85C was also designed by Newey, and with this car, the CART championship was won in 1986. In both 1986 and 1987, the March 86C was the winning car at the Indy 500.

Adrian Newey F1

In 1990, Adrian Newey joined the Williams F1 Team. Together with Patrick Head, Newey designed no less than five championship-worthy cars. Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, and Jacques Villeneuve all became Formula 1 world champions in cars designed by Newey.

Adrian Newey McLaren F1

From 1997, Newey served as part of the McLaren F1 team. He continued his success by securing both the drivers' and constructors' championships in 1998 with the British team. Mika Hakkinen won the drivers' championship in 1998 and repeated the feat in 1999, once again in a car designed by Newey.

Adrian Newey Red Bull Racing

In the early 2000s, Newey remained active at McLaren. Despite providing drivers such as Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, and Kimi Raikkonen with a competitive car, McLaren couldn't match the dominant Ferrari team. In 2006, Newey moved to Red Bull Racing, which, under the guidance of Christian Horner and Dr. Helmut Marko, was striving to become a top team. In the ensuing period, Newey led a development program that quickly bore fruit. At the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, Red Bull achieved its first podium finish; David Coulthard finished third in the RB2. Red Bull also secured podium finishes in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, extensive aerodynamic rule changes took place in Formula 1. This provided Newey the opportunity to build the RB5 from scratch instead of building upon the previous year's car. With the arrival of the RB5, Red Bull Racing developed into a competitive team. In the third round of the championship, Sebastian Vettel secured the team's first ever victory. In the subsequent races, Vettel and teammate Mark Webber stood on the podium multiple times. Red Bull won six races in 2009 and finished second in the constructors' championship, behind Brawn GP.

Adrian Newey RB6

In 2010, Red Bull continued its upward trajectory. Newey provided Vettel and Webber with a championship-worthy car: the RB6. Although the car was extremely fast, it experienced technical issues on several occasions. Vettel and his teammate suffered multiple retirements due to overheating engines. The championship was decided in the final round, with Sebastian Vettel becoming the Formula 1 world champion with a mere three-point advantage over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. In the title-winning year, Red Bull secured nine victories out of twenty podium finishes. In the following three seasons, the partnership between Newey and Vettel remained unbeatable. Red Bull became champions in both the drivers' and constructors' championships in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

F1 Hybrid Era

When the 1.5-liter V6 engine was introduced in Formula 1 in 2014, Newey and Red Bull struggled to compete with Mercedes and Ferrari. This was largely due to the Renault power unit used by Red Bull. Despite the Austrian team being unable to match the pace of the Mercedes and Ferrari cars, Daniel Ricciardo managed to secure three victories. At the end of 2014, Sebastian Vettel decided to leave the Red Bull team. The four-time world champion pursued his childhood dream and joined the Ferrari team, bringing an end to the long-standing partnership between Vettel and Newey.

In the following years, the competition, particularly from Mercedes, remained too strong for Red Bull. Newey took a more background role but remained partly responsible for the car's design. In 2019, Newey returned as the chief designer of the Red Bull cars. This began with the RB16, the car with which Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon achieved two victories and thirteen podium finishes in 2020.

Adrian Newey Max Verstappen

In 2021, Red Bull unveiled the RB16B, an evolved version of the RB16. Newey and his team managed to harness the car's potential, delivering Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez a car with which they could compete for the championship. Verstappen clinched the Formula 1 world championship during the final round of the season. With his RB16B, Newey contributed to 23 podium finishes, including eleven victories.

In 2022, the aerodynamic regulations in Formula 1 underwent another revamp. The most radical change to the cars was the reintroduction of ground effect. Like in 2009, Newey and his design team capitalized on the opportunities presented by the new regulations better than the competition.

Newey's RB18 quickly joined the ranks of dominant cars like the Mercedes W04, Ferrari F2004, and Williams FW14B. With twelve victories in eighteen races, Max Verstappen secured his second driver's title. Two weeks later, Verstappen's thirteenth victory earned the team their fifth constructors' championship. For Newey, this was his eleventh constructors' title. The RB18 also delivered the team the highest number of wins in a single season and the most points in the history of the sport.

Adrian Newey Ayrton Senna

Newey was responsible for the design of the Williams FW16, the car in which Ayrton Senna had a fatal accident during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Following Senna's tragic crash, Newey and several colleagues were accused of manslaughter. Newey was acquitted in December 1997. The acquittal was confirmed in 1999. In 2003, the Italian court reopened the case. Newey was once again acquitted in 2005 when the court concluded that Senna's crash was caused by material errors.

Adrian Newey Wife

Newey has been married multiple times. In 1983, he married his first wife, Amanda. The couple had two children, Charlotte and Hannah. They separated in 1989. In 1992, Newey remarried, this time to his fiancée Marigold. He later divorced her in 2010. Newey had two children with Marigold named Imogen and Harrison. In 2017, Newey married for the third time, to Amanda Smerczak.

Harrison Newey, Son Adrian Newey

Adrian Newey's son, Harrison Newey, is also involved in motorsport. He has competed in several racing series, including Formula 3.

Adrian Newey Book

In 2017, Adrian Newey released the book 'How to Build a Car.' The book has received many positive reviews over the years and has been translated into various languages.

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