Adrian Newey facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Adrian Newey OBE
Newey in 2011
Born	Adrian Martin Newey (1958-12-26) 26 December 1958 (age 66) Colchester, Essex, England
Alma mater	University of Southampton (BSc)
Occupation	Engineer aerodynamicist automotive designer motorsport executive
Employer	IMSA GT March (1981–1983) CART IndyCar March (1984–1986) Kraco (1986) Newman/Haas (1987) Formula One Fittipaldi (1980) Haas Lola (1986) March (1988–1989) Leyton House (1990) Williams (1991–1996) McLaren (1997–2005) Red Bull (2006–2024) Aston Martin (2025–present)
Title	Managing Technical Partner
Spouse(s)	Amanda (m. 1983; div. 1989) Marigold (m. 1992; div. 2010) Amanda Smerczak (m. 2017)
Children	4, including Harrison
Relatives	Ron Smerczak (father-in-law)

24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2007
Teams	AF Corse
Best finish	22nd (2007)
Class wins	0

Adrian Martin Newey (born 26 December 1958) is a famous British engineer and car designer. He is known for creating some of the fastest cars in Formula One history. Since 2025, Newey has been a technical director and co-owner at Aston Martin. Before that, he worked for teams like Leyton House, McLaren, Williams, and Red Bull Racing. Many people consider him one of the best engineers in Formula One ever. His car designs have helped teams win 12 World Constructors' Championship titles and many races.

Newey's cars also won the CART titles in 1985 and 1986. He left his main design duties at Red Bull Racing in May 2024. He then focused on the RB17 hypercar. He fully left Red Bull in early 2025.

Early Life and Career Beginnings
Success in CART Racing
Formula One Design Career
Other Activities
Family Life
Awards and Achievements
24 Hours of Le Mans Results
See also

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Adrian Martin Newey was born in Colchester, Essex, England, on December 26, 1958. His father was a veterinarian, and his mother drove an ambulance during World War II. Adrian went to Repton school. He was asked to leave at age 16 after an incident at a concert where he turned up the sound levels too high.

In 1980, Newey earned a top degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Southampton. Right after graduating, he started working in motorsport for the Fittipaldi Formula One team. In 1981, he joined the March team. After working as a race engineer, Newey began designing racing cars. His first design, the March 82G sports car, was very successful. It won the IMSA GTP title two years in a row.

Success in CART Racing

The March 86C car, driven by Bobby Rahal, won the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and the CART title.

In 1984, Newey started working on the March Indy car project. He was a designer and race engineer for Bobby Rahal. Newey's March 85C design helped Al Unser win the 1985 CART championship. It also won the 1985 Indianapolis 500 with Danny Sullivan. In 1986, Newey's March 86C design won the CART title and the 1986 Indianapolis 500 with Bobby Rahal.

After his success in CART, Newey joined the Haas Lola F1 team in late 1986. However, the team closed at the end of that season. He then worked for Newman-Haas in 1987. Soon after, March hired him again as chief designer for their Formula One team.

Formula One Design Career

Early F1 Designs: March and Leyton House

At the 1990 French Grand Prix, Ivan Capelli led the race and finished second in the Leyton House CG901.

Newey's first Formula One car design was the 1988 March 881. This car performed much better than expected. Ivan Capelli finished second in Portugal that year. He even briefly led the Japanese Grand Prix.

In 1990, March became Leyton House Racing, and Newey became their technical director. At the French Grand Prix, Capelli led most of the race and finished second. However, the team's results generally declined that year. Newey was later fired from the team. He said he had already decided to leave because the team was being run by accountants.

Dominance with Williams

The FW14 series won 17 races, 21 pole positions, and 289 points, helping Nigel Mansell win the 1992 title.

The Williams Renault FW18, driven by 1996 World Champion Damon Hill.

In the early 1990s, Williams F1 was a top team. Technical director Patrick Head quickly hired Newey. With more money, better drivers, and resources, Newey and Head became a very strong design team. By mid-1991, Newey's FW14 car was as good as the leading McLaren cars. But early problems and the skill of Ayrton Senna stopped Nigel Mansell from winning the championship.

In 1992, there were no such problems. Mansell won the drivers' championship, and Newey secured his first constructors' title. In 1993, they won again with Alain Prost driving the FW15C.

The 1994 season was more difficult for Newey's cars. The team struggled to match the speed of the Benetton B194. A very sad event happened at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix when Ayrton Senna passed away after joining Williams that year. Despite this, Williams won their third straight constructors' championship. However, they did not win the drivers' title.

By 1995, Newey wanted to be a technical director again. But Patrick Head was a founder of Williams, which blocked Newey's path. Williams lost both championships to Benetton in 1995. By the time Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve won both titles in 1996, Newey was preparing to join McLaren.

His time at Williams ended with his cars winning 59 races and four drivers' championships.

McLaren Success

Mika Häkkinen in a McLaren MP4-13.

Newey could not fully design the 1997 McLaren car. So, he focused on improving the existing design and working on the 1998 car. McLaren won a race at the end of 1997. When the 1998 season started, the McLaren MP4/13 was the car to beat. McLaren won championships in 1998 and 1999. Mika Häkkinen almost won a third drivers' title in 2000.

In 2001, Newey almost joined the Jaguar F1 team. But McLaren boss Ron Dennis convinced him to stay.

Newey stayed with McLaren, but there were always rumors he wanted to leave. In April 2005, it was announced his contract was extended. Then, in July, he decided to stay with McLaren for 2006.

Red Bull Racing Era

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber at the 2010 Malaysian GP in the Red Bull RB6. Vettel won his and Red Bull's first title that year.

Sebastian Vettel took his second title in 2011 driving the Red Bull RB7.

Sebastian Vettel took his third consecutive title in 2012 in a Red Bull RB8.

Despite his earlier decision, Red Bull Racing announced in November 2005 that Newey would join them in February 2006. He could not greatly influence the 2006 car's design. The season started slowly for Red Bull. However, their driver, David Coulthard, who had driven Newey's cars before, finished third at the Monaco Grand Prix. This showed the team was improving.

Newey's car for 2009 was a big step up for Red Bull. They had one-two finishes in Shanghai and at the British Grand Prix, both won by Sebastian Vettel. Red Bull finished second in the Constructors' Championship that year.

The 2010 Red Bull car (the RB6) was excellent. It won the Constructors' Championship and took 15 out of 19 pole positions. In November 2010, Red Bull won the World Drivers' Championship with Sebastian Vettel. This made Newey the only F1 designer to win Constructors' Championships with three different F1 teams.

The 2011 RB7 was even faster and very reliable. It took 18 of 19 pole positions and won 12 races. Sebastian Vettel became the youngest double champion in F1 history. Red Bull also secured the Constructors' Championship in 2011.

In 2012, Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel won the championship again at the exciting 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. In 2013, the RB9 and Sebastian Vettel completely dominated. They defended both the World Drivers' and World Constructors' Championships. Vettel won a record-breaking 9 races in a row.

The RB19, the car Newey designed for Red Bull for the 2023 season, driven by Max Verstappen.

After 2014, Formula One introduced new V6 turbo-hybrid engines. Newey's cars were held back by the performance of their engines. However, a switch to Honda engines in 2019 eventually gave the team a winning engine. Between 2014 and 2020, most of his cars won at least two races. In 2021, the RB16B design won the Drivers' Championship with Max Verstappen. In 2022, the RB18 was very strong. It gave Verstappen his second Drivers' Championship and Red Bull their first Constructors' Championship since 2013.

The RB19 followed in 2023. It became one of the most dominant F1 cars ever, winning 21 out of 22 races. At the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix, Red Bull got their 100th win, which was Newey's 200th win in Formula One. Later that year, Red Bull broke McLaren's record of 11 consecutive victories.

In April 2024, news spread that Newey was interested in leaving Red Bull Racing. Red Bull confirmed he was contracted until at least the end of 2025. However, it was later reported that Newey's departure was complete. He officially left Red Bull Racing in the first part of 2025. He stepped away from his Formula One duties but continued to work on their first hypercar, the RB17.

Joining Aston Martin

Newey signed a contract with Aston Martin. He became a shareholder and Managing Technical Partner for the team. His move was announced in September 2024. He officially started work on March 1, 2025, in time for the 2026 racing rules.

Other Activities

Newey loves collecting and driving sports cars. He has raced in Le Mans Legend races. In 2007, he raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Ferrari F430. He and his co-drivers finished 22nd overall.

In 2010, Newey worked as a chief technical officer for the video game Gran Turismo 5. He collaborated with game designer Kazunori Yamauchi and driver Sebastian Vettel. This led to the creation of concept cars like the Red Bull X2010 for the game.

Newey was given his own Red Bull RB5 car in 2010 for his achievements. He first drove it at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed. In August 2010, Newey was in a racing accident while driving in the Ginetta G50 Cup. He was taken to the hospital but was not seriously hurt.

In 2018, Newey became an advisory board member for the W Series. This is a racing championship for women.

Family Life

Adrian Newey has been married three times. He has four children, including his son Harrison. Harrison is also a racing driver. He won the 2016–17 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship and the 2017–18 Asian Le Mans Series. Adrian Newey has been married to Amanda "Mandy" Smerczak since August 2017.

Awards and Achievements

Formula One World Championships

Newey's first championship-winning cars from each of his teams, and his most recent: Williams FW14B (1992), McLaren MP4/13 (1998), Red Bull RB6 (2010) and Red Bull RB20 (2024)

Cars designed by Adrian Newey have won 12 Constructors' titles and 14 World Drivers' Championships. This includes four Constructors' titles in a row from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull. As of 2024, Newey has been the lead designer for 40 Formula One entries. He has won World Championships with 15 of these and races with 31.

Season	World Championship		Chassis	Engine	Statistics
Season	Constructors'	Drivers'	Chassis	Engine	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	WCC
1988	Newey becomes chief designer at March
1988	—		881	Judd	18	0	0	0	3	6th
1989	—		CG891	Judd	14	0	0	1*	0	12th
1990	March becomes Leyton House with Newey promoted to technical director
1990	—		CG901	Judd	16	0	0	0	1*	7th
1991	Newey moves to Williams as chief designer
1991	—		FW14	Renault	16	7	6	8	17	2nd
1992	Williams	Nigel Mansell	FW14B		16	10	15*	11*	21	1st
1993	Williams (2)	Alain Prost	FW15C		16	10	15*	10	22*	1st
1994	Williams (3)	N/A	FW16		16	7	6	8	13	1st
1995	—		FW17		17	5	12	6	17	2nd
1996	Williams (4)	Damon Hill	FW18		16	12*	12	11*	21	1st
1997	Williams (5)	Jacques Villeneuve	FW19		17	8	11	9	15	1st
1998	Newey moves to McLaren as technical director
1998	McLaren	Mika Häkkinen	MP4/13	Mercedes	16	9	12	9	20	1st
1999	N/A	Mika Häkkinen (2)	MP4/14		16	7	11	9	16	2nd
2000	—		MP4/15		17	7	7	12*	22	2nd
2001			MP4-16		17	4	2	6	13	2nd
2002			MP4-17		17	1	0	2	10	3rd
2003			MP4-17D		16	2	2	3	13	3rd
2004			MP4-19		18	1	1	2	4	5th
2005			MP4-20		19	10	7	12*	18	2nd
2006			MP4-21		18	0	3	3	9	3rd
2007	Newey moves to Red Bull as CTO
2007	—		RB3 STR2	Renault Ferrari	17	0	0	0	1	5th
2008			RB4 STR3		18	1	1	0	2	6th
2009			RB5 STR4		17	6	5	6	16	2nd
2010	Red Bull	Sebastian Vettel	RB6	Renault	19	9	15	6	20	1st
2011	Red Bull (2)	Sebastian Vettel (2)	RB7		19	12	18*	10	27	1st
2012	Red Bull (3)	Sebastian Vettel (3)	RB8		20	7	8	7	14	1st
2013	Red Bull (4)	Sebastian Vettel (4)	RB9		19	13	11	12*	24	1st
2014	—		RB10		19	3	0	3	12	2nd
2015			RB11		19	0	0	3	3	4th
2016			RB12	TAG Heuer	21	2	1	5	16	2nd
2017			RB13		20	3	0	2	13	3rd
2018			RB14		21	4	2	6	13	3rd
2019			RB15	Honda	21	3	2	5	9	3rd
2020			RB16		17	2	1	3	13	2nd
2021	N/A	Max Verstappen	RB16B		22	11	10	8	23	2nd
2022	Red Bull (5)	Max Verstappen (2)	RB18	RBPT	22	17	8	8	28	1st
2023	Red Bull (6)	Max Verstappen (3)	RB19	Honda RBPT	22	21	14	11	30*	1st
2024	N/A	Max Verstappen (4)	RB20	Honda RBPT	24	9	8	4	18	3rd
2024	Newey departed Red Bull
2025	Newey moved to Aston Martin as technical director and co-owner
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