Adrian Newey's provocations at Aston Martin: "Good manners, but he's inflexible"

Until the last Monaco Grand Prix, Aston Martin maintained a polished and cohesive narrative about its restructuring, progress, and objectives. And then Adrian Newey arrived to break the deck. The British engineer played a disruptive role, true to his personality and extensive experience. Christian Horner had already warned of this when he joined Red Bull back in 2005. "Adrian forced a culture change on us, because his way of working is completely different. We weren't prepared for the amount of detail he devotes himself to."

In his first official appearance with the British team in Monaco, Newey played his cards right . By exposing, in his opinion, Aston Martin's weaknesses, he also pressured his new team to make decisions or incorporate new key personnel. The effects of his pressure are beginning to be seen. Lawrence Stroll's roster of signings and his investments are now reaching a level not seen in Formula 1 since the early days of Red Bull. And it seems the issue will not stop.

Two years?

“I think it's fair to say that some of our tools are weak, particularly the simulator. It requires a lot of work because it's currently completely uncorrelated, and it's a fundamental research tool. Not having it is a limitation.” The top boss must have been alarmed by Newey 's words. “We need to find solutions and then come up with a plan to get it (the simulator) where it needs to be. In reality, though, it's probably a two-year project . So we're going to have to be flying in the dark for a while.” Here, alarm bells went off.

Newey pointed out a key element for a Formula 1 team, even more important in the face of new regulations . On the one hand, as a "research tool" for a new project. On the other, as an element of fine-tuning the car for each Grand Prix. For example, the British team signed the Spanish Dani Juncadella to strengthen its squad of simulator drivers.

Anyone familiar with Newey's career would understand the Briton's departure from Monaco. Unfamiliar with Aston Martin's corporate structure, with carte blanche, and well-versed in the inner workings of a Formula 1 team, Andy Cowell had to admit that the Monaco rocket had a purpose.

The medicine for the sore

"Everything we do can and should be improved. Adrian feels the same way. The good thing about him is that he knows the level we need to reach. That's why he's setting high standards. I'm setting strict standards within the organization, and then it's a question of how quickly we can achieve them," Cowell explained when asked about Newey's attitude.

"Will it take us two years to achieve this? No, it won't. Is Adrian provoking people? Yes, he is . As are Lawrence, Fernando, Lance, myself, and many other people within the organization. And competitive advantage comes from how quickly we achieve this. So Adrian is provoking us. He tells everyone it'll take us two years to achieve this. And everyone at the factory I've spoken to, who works with the design team, says, 'Well, we'll turn it into months instead of years.' It's not just about inspiring staff, though.

If Newey encountered internal resistance to Aston Martin continuing to roll out the checkbook, another key Aston Martin signing has now emerged, specifically for the area he pointed out as a weakness. "You can have the best motion system in the world, but if you don't have the modeling to go with it, or the correlation with the aerodynamic model, or the tire model, it won't be worth anything," the British engineer also stated on the subject. In other words, you can have the best computer in the world, but without the software up to par, it's just junk.

Now, British outlet The Race has announced the signing of a crucial technician for the Briton, Giles Wood . The two worked together in the area of ​​modeling and simulation during Red Bull's reign in Formula 1. This is precisely the cure for the sore spot Newey himself was putting his finger on . He will be responsible for developing the software for the computer and thus shortening the timeframes Newey was pointing out. It seems the provocation must have worked to bring in Giles Wood.

Wood had left Formula 1 and was working on Apple's autonomous vehicle technologies, the results of which are currently uncertain. His incorporation would be immediate, without having to observe a waiting period, as is the cumbersome case of Enrico Cardile , who was retained for a year by Ferrari .

Adrian Newey's arrival at Red Bull could serve as a template for Aston Martin. "He's an absolute perfectionist : he has very good manners, but he's totally inflexible," explained Horner, recalling his arrival at the Austrian team, the seed of what would later become the dominant force in Formula 1.

“At Williams and McLaren, Adrian had been part of established teams with a well-established infrastructure, and all he had to do was contribute his creativity and technical direction,” Horner explained. Unlike the Austrian team, that infrastructure has been modernized in recent years at Aston Martin, to the point that Newey himself was impressed. Although he made it clear in Monaco that it wasn't enough.

Red Bull had to completely modernize its technical resources. And it had to sign a spectacular roster of technicians and key figures for the team: Rob Marshall, Jonathan Wheatley, Kenny Handkammer, Peter Prodromou, Paul Monaghan, Mark Ellis, Ciaron Pilbeam, Guillaume "Rocky" Rocquelin... Almost all of them established figures in current Formula 1. Adrian Newey arrived and began to clamor for more. Today, he's even a shareholder at Aston Martin, and with twenty more years of experience. Without a doubt, he'll continue to provoke.