Formula 1: Aston Martin hires former Red Bull car designer Adrian Newey

Adrian Newey is heading to Aston Martin.

The Formula 1 team announced Tuesday that the longtime car designer would be joining the team on March 1, 2025. Newey’s arrival comes after he’s spent most of the 2024 season on leave after announcing his exit from Red Bull Racing.

Newey is the most influential car designer in modern F1 history. He was Red Bull’s Chief Technical Officer and oversaw the development of the team’s car that won 19 of 22 races a season ago as Max Verstappen had the most dominant season ever in F1. Aston Martin currently fields cars for Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

That campus was key to securing Newey’s services as the team took him on a tour of the facility earlier this summer.

Newey’s start date means he should be able to play a role in the team’s 2026 car design. F1 is overhauling car regulations for the 2026 season and Red Bull was the best early adopter when the car rules were changed after the 2021 season.

Mercedes had been the dominant team through 2021, but the new car rules gave Red Bull a chance to jump back to the top of F1 again. The team has won the last two constructor’s titles as Verstappen has won three consecutive driver’s titles.

Teams have caught up to Red Bull this season, however, and it’s still an open question just how much of that catchup has to do with Newey’s departure.

One of the teams that hasn’t caught up to Red Bull is Aston Martin. It’s languishing in a very distant fifth place in the constructors standings behind Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.

The team looked feisty to start the 2023 season as Alonso scored six podium finishes over the first eight races. Since then, he’s finished on the podium just twice.