Adrian Newey.

SuperRoo

Heard reports that the BBC has a story that Adrian Newey is leaving McLaren and going to Red Bull. Anyone else hear this...





[Edited on 8/11/2005 by SuperRoo]

SuperRoo

Technical director Adrian Newey is set to leave McLaren, the BBC understands, and join Red Bull.
Newey would team up again with Scottish driver David Coulthard, with whom he worked at both McLaren and Williams.

The designer signed a new deal in July, but that was thought to be only a short-term deal for the 2006 season.

The 46-year-old Englishman won four world titles with Williams in the early 1990s before joining McLaren in 1997 and winning two more championships.

BBC motor racing correspondent Maurice Hamilton said the move would destabilise McLaren in the long term.

"It's not just the fact that he's designing the car, it's building up the structure within that team," he said.

"If you take the king pin away, you get a knock-on effect. Other people might leave and some people might go with him."

In their first season after taking over the Jaguar team, Red Bull finished seventh in the constructors' championship in 2006, with Coulthard 12th in the drivers' championship.

Newey came close to joining the Jaguar team from McLaren in 2001 but changed his mind at the last minute, prompting a legal battle between the two.

Jello_Biafra

I personally can't wait. I think the guy is rubbish and he'll be exposed by switching teams. :)

MCSF

I thought he was going to sailboats.

Steve

I personally can't wait. I think the guy is rubbish and he'll be exposed by switching teams. :)

he already switched teams once and it did'nt exactly make the Mclaren a slow car....

james

Rubbish ?!? LOL.......

Compare him to the other technical directors in Formula 1.......

Jello_Biafra

Not rubbish, I take that back. I just don't think he lives up to the hype. It's a strange situation too in that everyone recognizes Rory Byrne for Ferrari's success but when McLaren is quick it's all Adrian. Guys like Mike Coughlan just sit around and pat him on the back I suppose. :rolleyes:

Petroltorque

Coughlan was put in Charge of designing last year's macLaren. When it turned out to be slow and unreliable. Newey was asked to rectify its problems and design the 05 car. I understood that Newey was hoping to step away from hands on design.

viges

I didn't even both responding to Jello's first post as it was so ridiculous so well done for your amendment. Newey is one of the finest minds in F1 history.

I interviewed him at Cowes Week this year and he remains very interested in yachts.

Minardus

Grandprix.com:

Red Bull confirms Newey
Red Bull Racing has confirmed that Adrian Newey will join the team as Chief Technical Officer at the end of February 2006. The 46-year-old engineer will leave McLaren after eight seasons during which the team won the World Championship twice with Mika Hakkinen. Prior to that he worked at Williams where his designs between 1991-1997 won a total of 58 Grand Prix victories, four Drivers' titles and five Constructors' Championships.

Newey has been working in motor racing since he joined Fittipaldi Automotive. He moved to March soon afterwards and after cutting his teeth in F2 designed the March GTP sportscar which went on to win two successive IMSA titles. At the end of 1983 he was given the job of designing March Indycars, which enjoyed huge success in the years that followed. In 1986 Newey moved to the short-lived FORCE F1 team and then worked with Newman Haas Racing in the United States. He returned to F1 as chief designer at March in 1988 and later became technical director of Leyton House Racing, which grew out of the March operation.

Jello_Biafra

Yep, it's official.

I imagine that their current TD will be shipped off to Faenza?

Linus

Yep, it's official.

I imagine that their current TD will be shipped off to Faenza?

You think Mark Smith will work for STR!? :o

MCSF

Bummer for Tredozi - but then again they will be dealing with a 1 year old RB chassis and not a real Faenza creation.

viges

Precisely. It is a glorified GP2/A1 set-up. Doesn't mean I don't wish them all the best, because I do.

Petroltorque

There seems to be a lot of nonsense being talked in cyberspace particularly from BBc Journo's who are paid to know whats going on. A case in point is Newey's departure from Macca. I doubt whether this will have any long term detrimental affect at Paragon. MacLaren still have Neil Oatley on Board who was responsible for designing the most successful F1 car in motor racing history. In addition they have already poached the most talented F1 aerodynamicist in Nicolas Tombazis. So no change there I fear.
On the topic of Minardi running a second hand RBR chassis, AFAIK, the rules at present forbid it. You can run common components such as engine/ gearbox or you can commision a third party company to design and build your chassisas Midland are doing and Larrouse did. This talk of second hand chassis has never been ratified and should Minardi attempt I'm pretty sure it will be contested. The other teams are already unhappy that Minardi will be using a V10 next year, as it was meant to be only a stop gap to keep them in business, with their takeover it hardly seems appropriate.
Finally, Mark Smith to Faenza, whee did you hear that. Smith is a third rate designer who can be grouped with Gavin Fisher, Trvor Nichols and malcolm Oastler. Thye're capable of managing one aspect of the car but incapable of designing a successful chassis.

Jello_Biafra

Nobody has reported it, just a logical guess.

Petroltorque

But the problem is the rules don't allow you to run a chassis manufactured by another competing manufacturer. Red Bull can only run the RB1 if the FIA change the concorde agreement. Now thats going to take a unaminous agreement to achieve. That decision will also affect Super Aguri racing as well.

manlio27

Well, if RBR wants to run Toro Rosso next year with an off-spec engine (or with a second hand chassis, that is anyway against the rules), they can ask Paul Stoddart (Melbourne '05 version) on how to do it!:hehe:

BTW, I'm very curious to see the Newey designed RBR, and to see if Oatley is still up the pace to design a super McLaren.

[Edited on 10/11/2005 by manlio27]

Jello_Biafra

I was refering to the Mark Smith bit, not the chassis. I thought it was pretty much common knowledge that we'd see the PS05 return..

Lease

Thought I read a few months back that Newey was getting tired.

So now he has to design two cars. Can't imagine the 'The Wankers' (seems like a reasonable name for the fizzy drink people) will not want to get as much value as possible from the boy.

Ste

Newey may work on Toro Rosso car






The little team formerly known as 'Minardi' could be about to make a significant step up the grand prix grid next year. Now called 'Squadra Toro Rosso', the Faenza based outfit is owned by Dietrich Mateschitz, the energy drink magnate who also has the deed to the 'Red Bull Racing' team.


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As well as buying Minardi from Paul Stoddart, Red Bull has bought renowned F1 designer Adrian Newey from McLaren. "We are about to double the Minardi design department," Mateschitz revealed in an interview with Motorsport Aktuell.

The Austrian added: "It's not forbidden that Newey can also look at the Toro Rosso car."

Billionaire Mateschitz also denied that Englishman Newey, 46, had been lured from Woking with a huge pay cheque. "Newey did not profit financially from this move," he insisted. "On the contrary. We are not an under-financed team, but we have a third of the budget of others."

Mateschitz said Newey would team up with lauded ex-Renault man Mark Smith, despite F1 speculation that the pair might not want to share the technical limelight.

bernie

Found an interesting article at Forbes on this topic.

More importantly scroll to the bottom and clickon th elink to Sutton Motorsports Images. It's a pop up on it's own screen and page link... I think some of you will find one picture of Mr. Mateschitz rather funny in a death star sort of way