Adrian Newey admits that Lawrence Stroll’s enthusiasm for Formula 1 and sense of commitment were instrumental in convincing him to join the Canadian billionaire’s Aston Martin team.
The 65-year-old legendary designer was announced on Tuesday as Aston’s new Managing Technical Partner, a role that Newey will begin to assume in the first quarter of 2025.
Newey announced last spring his decision to leave Red Bull, having been involved with the championship winning outfit for almost two decades.
While he took his time to decide his future, Newey quickly realized that he was in need of a new challenge, although one that would keep him involved in Formula 1, his principal field of expertise.
Having engaged in talks with Stroll over the summer, while also being approached by other teams, including Ferrari, Newey ultimately perceived a potential move to Aston Martin as a "natural choice".
“I think I felt as if I needed a new challenge,” he explained on Tuesday in the wake of the confirmation of his arrival at Aston Martin.
"And so kind of towards the end of April, I decided I needed to do something different. Spent a lot of time with Mandy, my wife, kind of discussing, 'Okay, what's next? What do we do? Do we kind of go off and sail around the world? Do I do something different, America's Cup or whatever?'
"So we took a bit of time out, and I felt I've been lucky enough to have achieved what I aspired to from the age of 10 or 12, which is simply to be a designer, I don't even use the word engineer, in motor racing.
"And I can honestly say, everything else has been a bonus, having sort of achieved that straight out of uni.
"I never, of course, expected anything like what I've been lucky enough to be involved with, but you have to be honest with yourself, you have to keep yourself fresh. And so I felt I needed a new challenge. So took a bit of time off."
Interestingly, Newey highlighted Stroll’s hand-on approach to Formula 1. The Briton finds the Canadian’s active involvement rare in modern F1, reminiscent of the sport's earlier days, and views it as a refreshing and exciting change.
"Lawrence and I have known each other off and on over the years," he said. "We often bump into each other in the gym, particularly at the Middle East and Far East races.
"So, as I kind of said, when I announced to everybody that I would be departing the old team, I was very flattered to have a lot of approaches from various teams.
"But really, Lawrence's passion and commitment and enthusiasm is very endearing. It's very persuasive.
“The reality is, if you go back 20 years, then what we now call team principals are actually the owners of the teams, Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Eddie Jordan, etc, etc.
"In this modern era, Lawrence is actually unique in being the only properly active team owner. And I think that does bring a different feeling when you have somebody like Lawrence involved, like that.
"It's back to the old school model and to have the chance to be a shareholder and a partner, is something that has never been offered to me before. So it's a slightly different slant. It's one I'm very much looking forward to. It became a very natural choice."
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