Newey reveals time actually spent on Red Bull F1 team

Adrian Newey has revealed that he only spends around 50% of his time on Red Bull's F1 teams, as he invests other time in projects with the brand.

The legendary designer has established himself as one of the greats of F1 car design, having won a total of 12 Constructors' titles across teams including Williams, McLaren and latterly Red Bull.

Newey recently signed a contract extension with Red Bull that will keep him "long term" at the team, having previously told RacingNews365 that he did not plan to retire any time soon.

Newey: I’m a bit of a maverick

In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Newey confirmed that "roughly 50%" of his time is actually spent on Red Bull's F1 project these days, with other projects including a submarine occupying his time.

“It’s difficult to say exactly but I would say roughly 50 per cent,” said Newey.

“I suppose I’m a bit of a maverick in as much as I’ve managed to get to a situation now where it [the F1 engineering team] can operate procedurally without me, which allows me to be spoilt enough to be able to get involved in any area I feel like.”

Among getting involved with another car project with Red Bull, Newey has also been tasked with designing a submarine.

The project was commissioned by Dietrich Mateshitz before his passing late last year, with work continuing despite the recent high profile accident involving the Titan submersible that imploded earlier this year.

“It’s a great shame he won’t get to see it completed,” said Newey.

“I’m actually a bit nervous of it! Even before the recent well-publicised accident with the Titanic submersible. But we’re quite rightly doing it in partnership with submarine experts. We’re not targeting sea depths.

"Dietrich’s brief was he wanted one that was easy to move around [his private] island and which he could launch from different sites.”