Eddie Jordan believes Adrian Newey has joined Aston Martin at a moment in time strikingly similar to where Red Bull stood in 2006, when the legendary F1 designer committed to the team’s bold vision and future ambitions.
The parallels, according to Jordan, are significant—and they suggest Aston Martin is poised for a similar rise to greatness.
At 65, Newey is set to embark on a new exciting chapter in his over 35-year history in F1, almost 20 of which were spent with Red Bull and marked by the team’s astonishing seven drivers’ championships, six constructors’ titles, 120 race wins, 278 podiums and 103 pole positions.
But a fresh challenge beckoned for the man widely regarded as the greatest designer in Grand Prix racing’s 74-year history.
As Newey’s friend and confidant, and the man to whom the latter entrusted his interests, Jordan played a pivotal role in negotiating the Briton’s move to his new team.
Speaking to David Coulthard on the pair’s Formula for Success podcast, the former F1 team owner opened up on the key reasons Newey selected Aston Martin as his new endeavor in F1.
“Well, in my opinion, there’s a couple of very sensible and realistic reasons why,” he explained.
“One of them was the position, which is total control, responsibility, which he’s never really ever had before with other team principals and other shareholder people and partners and this is what this offers.
“It offers him a shareholding, a position of total responsibility of control, a board position and a partnership with Lawrence Stroll, and quite clearly that is very different to what has happened before.
Jordan emphasized how Aston Martin today bears resemblance to Red Bull when Newey first joined the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
“This is a team that perhaps is very similar to where he was when he joined Red Bull,” he noted.
In 2006, Red Bull was a solid top-five team, brimming with potential but yet to break into the sport's elite. Similarly, Aston Martin has become a consistent force in the upper midfield, with strong ambitions to challenge for championships in the coming years.
The driving force behind both teams’ aspirations is also notably similar. At Red Bull, Newey found a dynamic and determined leader in Dietrich Mateschitz, who provided the resources and freedom necessary for success. Today, Lawrence Stroll fills that role at Aston Martin.
“There’s a huge vision, a huge desire from the owner,” Jordan added. “Lawrence Stroll at Aston Martin, like Dietrich at Red Bull, is committed to taking the team to the very top.”
“Both in my opinion are very similar types of people, hugely successful, entrepreneurial visionary people who have a great mindset, a passion, a belief and total devotion to what success is all about and I think this is what will be delivered in time by Adrian to the team at Aston Martin.”
“There's a couple of other reasons of course, the fact that he has yet (0:34) to work with with Lewis or Fernando.
This leadership model—a visionary, motivated owner backing a team with top-level investment—proved to be the foundation of Red Bull’s dominance, and it now sets the stage for Aston Martin’s future.
“It'll be interesting and exciting to see how it unfolds,” Jordan said.
“And I have to believe that in the future this has the opportunity and the success that the willingness that somebody like a private team like Aston Martin in the hands of Laurence Stroll, managed and controlled and engineered by Adrian Newey, has the most unbelievable opportunity to be one of the great teams of the great future.”
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