LIFE IN THE FAST LANE Legendary F1 auto designer Adrian Newey brings his magic to Aston Martin

BRITISH CAR designer Adrian Newey is a motorsports legend.

- JEREMY TAYLOR

With more than 200 grand prix victories, the 65-year-old has claimed a string of F1 titles for Williams, McLaren and current championship leader Red Bull.

After announcing plans to leave Red Bull F1 in 2025, Newey was heavily linked with a string of top teams. McLaren, Ferrari and Alpine were all chasing the man regarded as the greatest F1 designer of all time.

Thanks to an incredible CV, Newey, who still prefers to design with a pen and paper rather than a computer, wasn’t going to be rushed. In September, Aston Martin finally announced they had won the most soughtafter signature in racing.

So what makes Newey so special? The quiet-spoken designer has won an incredible 12 Constructors’ and 13 Drivers’ championships. The first featured Nigel Mansell driving for Williams in 1992, and in 1998, Mika Häkkinen for McLaren. Newey clocked up four in a row with Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel from 2010 to 2013, and more recently, Max Verstappen has been on a winning streak for Red Bull since 2021.

But in April, Newey shocked the motorsports world by revealing his decision to leave Red Bull next year. Since then, he has transferred away from the F1 team to focus on designing a Red Bull hypercar for the road.