Because the designer doesn’t ‘write’ the regulations
Adrian Newey at first he was not fascinated by the new 2022 rules, but after a more careful reading he admitted he was wrong and Red Bull’s results so far in this ground effect era demonstrate how the longest-serving designer currently active in F1 has actually ‘unleashed’.
The 2026 regulations, like what was the first instinct on the 2022 ones, do not ‘warm up’ the aerodynamics wizard who on May 1st formalized the end of the working relationship with Red Bull. Newey will be free to join a new team starting from the end of the first quarter of 2025 and all signs point to Maranello, for a marriage between Newey and Ferrari that finally ‘has to happen’. In a long speech hosted by the newspaper Motorsport Magazine Adrian Newey underlined that F1 still makes his heart beat as well as making the gears of his mind turn: “As for my future, F1 still motivates me to get up in the morning – Newey’s words – starting from 2014, when we found ourselves in a demotivating position due to a non-competitive power unit (Renault with which Red Bull never fought for the title from 2014 to 2018), we took into consideration other projects that end became the Aston Martin Valkyrie and the foundation of Red Bull Advanced Technologies, which now has several projects. The largest is the RB17 track car. So I split my time at the factory between that and F1. When I’m on race weekends I work exclusively on F1 and I find it useful in terms of what I can learn and bring to the factory. This variety helped me stay motivated. The races still excite me.”
Newey also explained why he never accepted the numerous offers to go to the other side of the fence, that is, to be among those who write the regulations. The main problem is that the starting sheet is not as white as one might expect: “I would need a total change in the tendency to over-legislate, which seems to be getting worse and not better“.
