Motor racing-Aston Martin expected to announce Newey next week

Liberty Media

04/09/2024 18:51

By Alan Baldwin
       LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Adrian Newey, Formula One's
star designer, is set to join Aston Martin in 2025 with the team
expected to confirm the move next week.
    Aston Martin have invited media to a press conference next
Tuesday with senior leadership at the Silverstone factory.
Sources, and media reports, have indicated Newey will be
announced.
    Eddie Jordan, who founded the team that after various
changes of ownership and name now competes as Aston Martin, acts
as Newey's manager but refused to comment when contacted by
Reuters. A team spokesman also provided no detail.
    Newey, 65, announced in May he was leaving champions Red
Bull, saying he wanted to seek new challenges.
    Cars designed by the Briton have won 25 drivers' and
constructors' championships for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull.
His 2023 Red Bull car was the most dominant in the sport's
history with 21 wins from 22 races.  
    Red Bull are top of both championships but have lost
performance in recent races and McLaren are now only eight
points behind. 
    Aston Martin have made no secret of their desire to secure
his services, while Ferrari and McLaren were also interested
initially, with a new engine era and major rules revamp coming
in 2026.
    "If Red Bull still had Newey, 2026 is where his head would
be going," former Jordan and Jaguar designer Gary Anderson wrote
in the Daily Telegraph this week in analysing that team's
current plight.
    "He knows that anything you learn from the next two years
will be valuable to put into the data bank to understand the
2026 solution even better."
    The Daily Mail reported the deal would bring Newey 20
million pounds ($26.29 million) a year. 
    Owned by Canadian Lawrence Stroll, the team have 43-year-old
double world champion Fernando Alonso and Stroll's son Lance as
their drivers and an ambitious plan to get to the top.
    Newey told the BBC last year that he regretted never having
worked with Alonso.
    Stroll senior has spent heavily on the team, expanding the
factory into a new campus facility and bringing in top talent
from rivals.
    Former Mercedes engine head Andy Cowell was announced in
July as new chief executive officer, replacing former McLaren
boss Martin Whitmarsh. Aston have also recruited former Ferrari
technical director Enrico Cardile.
    Aston Martin, currently fifth in the standings, are starting
an exclusive new partnership with Honda, Red Bull's current
engine suppliers, from 2026.

 (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
 ((alan.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; +442075427933;))