Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsports, it is considered the highest category for a reason, and it is where the best brains come together who dedicate years and years of effort to create the best machines, applying their knowledge in all areas.
Someone who revolutionized the sport and who is recognized as one of the most brilliant engineers of the Grand Circus’s more than seven decades is Adrian Newey , the current chief designer for Red Bull.
The Briton has shown the way to victory in such legendary teams as Williams and McLaren in the past, and now he illuminates the Milton Keynes factory with his ideas, with whom he has won four constructors’ titles and five drivers’ titles.
In the 2022 season, with the radical change of the aerodynamic regulations, Red Bull seems to be one of the strongest on the grid, but everything could have changed in 2014 , when Formula 1 welcomed hybrid engines.
With the introduction of the V6, Mercedes began its golden era, the best of any team in the entire history of the category, achieving eight consecutive constructors’ world championships, and that overwhelming dominance made Newey doubt its continuity.
The 63-year-old Briton recalled what that time was like when, as he himself admits, he was very close to going to a direct rival in the energy drinks group.
“I had no illusions, and I almost went to Ferrari, which didn’t happen,” he told The Race . “I liked working with Red Bull, I wanted to continue with my team, but I understood that we had a very uncompetitive engine.”
“Our supplier (Renault) was more interested in marketing than how to win races. When a manufacturer makes worse engines than its rivals, but strives to improve them, it can be tolerated,” Newey explained.
“Our rider didn’t realize his performance was low, and he wasn’t going to do anything about it,” the Englishman revealed. “As a result, I lost motivation, I still loved Formula 1, but I couldn’t help it.
“I didn’t want to leave the team and, luckily, the Aston Martin Valkyrie road car project came along, which I took up again. While we were making that car, the team signed a contract with Honda, who weren’t very powerful, but they were motivated to give something more,” said the engineer.
That’s how Adrian Newey almost went to Ferrari, in what could have been one of the most successful pairings of the modern era, although there was also the possibility that the genius from Stratford-upon-Avon had never been seen again.