Adrian Newey: The Designer Behind 14 Drivers' Titles and the RB19

Adrian Newey is a British engineer and designer whose Formula One cars won 14 Drivers' and 12 Constructors' titles. He spent the core of his career at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, and he moved into the Aston Martin team in 2025. This profile covers his path from a school expulsion to the drawing board, the championship years and his role at Aston Martin.

Who is Adrian Newey?

Adrian Newey is a British engineer, aerodynamicist and car designer, born in Colchester on 26 December 1958. He designed championship-winning Formula One cars for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, and his designs won 14 Drivers' and 12 Constructors' titles across the sport's history.

His parents were Richard and Edwina Newey. His father worked as a veterinarian, and during World War II his mother drove an ambulance.

He attended Repton school, which expelled him at 16 after sound levels at a concert cracked stained glass windows. He graduated in 1980 from the University of Southampton with first-class honours in aeronautical engineering.

Fourteen Drivers' titles, twelve Constructors' titles and a single car that won 21 of 22 races: the Newey record in numbers.

How did Newey's career begin in motorsport?

Newey joined the Fittipaldi Formula One team under Harvey Postlethwaite after graduating. In 1981 he joined March as a race engineer for Johnny Cecotto, and his first designs were the March 82G and 83G sports cars for the IMSA GT series.

The March 83G won the IMSA GT title in 1983 and 1984.

Newey then moved on to the wider world of American open-wheel racing, where his designs would win the CART title twice.

Did Newey win titles in CART?

Yes. Newey's March designs took the 1985 and 1986 CART titles, with Al Unser champion in 1985 and Bobby Rahal champion in 1986. Both years also brought Indianapolis 500 wins, for Danny Sullivan in 1985 and Rahal in 1986.

In 1984 he moved to the March Indy car project as designer and race engineer for Bobby Rahal.

In 1986 Newey engineered Michael Andretti's car at Kraco, and in 1987 he worked as race engineer for Mario Andretti at Newman-Haas.

The 1986 season was the peak of his American years, with the same March design winning both the CART title and the Indianapolis 500 under Bobby Rahal.

How did Newey's first Formula One designs perform?

Newey's first Formula One design was the 1988 March 881. Ivan Capelli finished second in Portugal, and in Japan he briefly led on lap 16 of the race. As March became Leyton House in 1990, Newey was promoted to technical director.

In 1986 he had also joined the Haas Lola Formula One team, which withdrew that season, so the spell was brief.

The 1990 French Grand Prix was another strong result for the team. Capelli led most of the race before finishing second.

Newey was fired by Leyton House in the summer of 1990.

What made the Williams years successful?

Newey joined Williams in 1991, alongside technical director Patrick Head. Williams won the Constructors' title in 1992 and 1993 with his cars, and his Williams designs took 59 wins and 78 pole positions from 114 races between 1991 and 1997.

The 1991 FW14 matched McLaren for speed, but reliability problems and the efforts of Ayrton Senna kept Mansell from the title that year. Mansell took the drivers' title in 1992, and Newey secured his first Constructors' title.

The 1993 season delivered a second Constructors' title, with Alain Prost driving the FW15C. Newey's cars then struggled in 1994, when Williams could not match Michael Schumacher and the Benetton B194 for pace and reliability.

Ayrton Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, a tragedy that marked the year. Williams still won a third straight Constructors' title, helped by Schumacher's ban.

By 1996 Newey had been placed on gardening leave while Hill and Villeneuve took the drivers' and Constructors' titles. His Williams career ended with the 114 races from 1991 to 1997.

How did the McLaren years go?

Newey moved to McLaren in 1997 and worked on the team's cars from that season. He first improved a Neil Oatley design, then concentrated on the 1998 car.

The McLaren MP4/13 and MP4/14 brought the titles. Mika Hakkinen narrowly missed a third drivers' championship in 2000.

In 2001 a planned move to the Jaguar team, run by his friend Bobby Rahal, collapsed. Newey remained at McLaren, and in 2005 his contract was extended by six months, which kept him with the team for 2006.

The 2005 extension lasted six months, and Red Bull announced his arrival on 8 November 2005.

Why did Newey join Red Bull in 2006?

Red Bull announced Newey's arrival on 8 November 2005, with a start date of February 2006. In 2006 Coulthard finished third at Monaco with the team, and Newey's salary at Red Bull was reported at around $10 million a year.

His 2007 car, the RB3, used a Renault engine. Each driver retired seven times that season.

The RB5 of 2009 gave the team one-two finishes at Shanghai and the British Grand Prix.

The 2010 RB6 won the Constructors' title and took 15 of 19 pole positions. Newey became the only designer to have won Constructors' titles with three different teams.

In 2011 the RB7 took 18 of 19 poles and won 12 races. Sebastian Vettel became the youngest double champion in Formula One history, and Vettel's nine consecutive wins came with the RB9 in 2013.

How dominant was the RB19?

The RB19 of 2023 won 21 of the 22 races it contested, a 95.45 per cent win rate. That beat the previous record of 93.8 per cent, set by the McLaren MP4/4 in 1988.

The 2023 Canadian Grand Prix brought Red Bull's 100th win and Newey's 200th. Later that season the team broke McLaren's record of 11 consecutive wins.

In 2024 the RB20 gave Max Verstappen the Drivers' Championship, but Red Bull finished third in the Constructors' standings.

Why did Newey leave Red Bull?

On 1 May 2024 Red Bull announced that Newey would focus on the RB17 hypercar. He left Red Bull early in 2025, and he is still involved with the RB17 project.

His Aston Martin deal made him a shareholder and Managing Technical Partner. The move was announced in September 2024, and he started work on 1 March 2025.

In November 2025 it was announced that he would take over as team principal at Aston Martin in 2026. Andy Cowell moved to the role of Chief Strategy Officer to make way for him.

What happened after the Senna crash?

Newey was among several members of the Williams team charged with manslaughter following Senna's death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. He was acquitted in December 1997, and that acquittal was upheld on appeal in November 1999.

Italy's Supreme Court reopened the case in January 2003, and in May 2005 Newey received a full acquittal.

The case therefore ran from the 1994 crash until the May 2005 acquittal, keeping Newey's name in the legal record for more than a decade.

How did the engine rules shape Newey's Red Bull cars?

Once V6 turbo-hybrid units arrived in 2014, Newey's cars were held back by Renault engines for several seasons. A switch to Honda power in 2019 gave the team an engine capable of winning a title, and the 2021 RB16B then delivered the Drivers' Championship.

The RB16B won the Drivers' Championship with Max Verstappen in 2021, which marked the return of Red Bull to title contention. The RB18 then gave Verstappen his second Drivers' Championship in 2022 and delivered Red Bull its first Constructors' title since 2013.

Did Red Bull fight to keep Newey?

Yes. Red Bull extended his contract in 2014 for the next few seasons, with wider responsibility for new Red Bull Technology projects. The team was also said to have fought off a Ferrari offer of 20 million pounds to keep him in place.

Newey's later move to Aston Martin, announced in September 2024, was the next major change in his career after the long Red Bull period.

What did his Le Mans Legends racing involve?

Newey raced in the Le Mans Legends events for a few years. In 2006 he destroyed a Ford GT40 while competing, but he escaped with only a cut finger. Later he wrecked a Jaguar E-Type at the Goodwood Revival, and in 2007 he moved on to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Newey in numbers

Newey's record is measured in races, titles and wins. He has been part of 223 Grands Prix between 1991 and 2024, and he has made 40 entries as a lead designer. Those cars have produced 15 world championships and 31 Grand Prix wins as of 2026.

His Williams years alone produced 59 race victories, 78 pole positions and 60 fastest laps from 114 races between 1991 and 1997. Across his whole career the cars carry 14 Drivers' and 12 Constructors' titles.

Titles and milestones at a glance

What did Newey do outside Formula One?

Newey became a sports car racer as well as a designer. He competed in the Le Mans Legends races, and in 2007 he drove an AF Corse Ferrari F430 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He finished 22nd overall and fourth in class.

In 2010 he worked with the Gran Turismo 5 team as chief technical officer, and he was given his own Red Bull RB5 that year, which he first drove at Goodwood. In 2018 he joined the advisory board of the W Series.

His design work reached beyond cars. He designed a submarine for Dietrich Mateschitz.

How did the Aston Martin Valkyrie fit into his work?

Newey also worked on the Aston Martin Valkyrie hybrid sports car during his Red Bull years. That collaboration brought him into contact with Aston Martin before he joined the team as a shareholder.

He remains involved with the RB17 hypercar.

Legacy

Newey's record spans three teams and several decades. His cars have won 14 Drivers' and 12 Constructors' titles, and in 2023 the RB19 won 21 of 22 races.

He is an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, awarded in 2012, and he received honorary doctorates from the University of Sussex and Oxford Brookes University in 2013. He also wrote How to Build a Car, published in 2017.