Adrian Newey is only allowed to start working at Aston Martin from 2026 due to his previous contract stating he has to stay away from the sport for 12 months if he moves to another team. The 2025 car would have been built already, but we know he will be active on this car from day one and Aston Martin will be in the top 3 or 4 next season.
The drivers and owner of Aston Martin seem very happy having announced Formula One's top designer Adrian Newey joining their team. Lawrence Stroll the billionaire fashion businessman said it was the best business deal he has ever done and called it a bargain. I tend to agree even if it is costing them $30 million per season which is the third highest salary in Formula One behind Hamilton and Verstappen.
What is interesting is the reasons Newey selected Aston Martin over every other team as the other 9 teams did try and land his signature. He has worked for 3 teams over the years and has won 12 constructors titles resulting in 13 drivers championships.
Newey has worked for the likes of Williams in the past which was owned by one owner being Frank Williams. He was also with McLaren which was more corporate even though Ron Dennis was the major shareholder and finally with Red Bull Racing which grew from something small into something really big losing in many ways it's identity from those early days.
The idea of working directly with the owner means more freedom to do the job you need to do and not be stuck in some corporate red tape world. Those of you that have worked for a small company and moved into a corporate business will understand where Newey is coming from. This is not just a financial decision because Newey doesn't need the money as he is seriously wealthy already but more of enjoying the work he does with the right people around him.
Over the last few months certain engineers have joined Aston Martin notably the ex head of Mercedes who ran the power performance unit program. Aston Martin will be using the Honda engine from 2026 which Newey knows so well.
Aston Martin has a new factory and are 3 months away from adding their own brand new wind tunnel. Up till now they have been borrowing the Mercedes wind tunnel over the weekends and these are the tools Newey requires. Whatever is on his wish list he will be given and this would not happen at other teams because they have to get permission from the share holders first.
Another very important factor from selecting Aston martin over the other teams is Newey has been given shares in the company. If Red Bull had been smart they would have given Newey shares and this would never be happening now.
Newey's success will boost the company's share value which besides earning a salary he is looking after his future. The track success would still end up in his pocket which is a way of reflecting the value for his talents. Everyone wants to be recognised for what they do and being a part owner of a business will make him want to achieve more.
It is a hard one to estimate what Newey is actually worth when it comes to a annual salary, but I would say maybe 3 x what Lawrence Stroll is paying him on this new contract. Newey will add at worst a few extra hundred championship points each season which is $200 million and at best add around 800 million so somewhere in the middle being around $500 million is what he will add as an average to this team each year. Now you can see why the $30 million is regarded as an absolute bargain.
Newey also designs track and road cars which will help Aston Martins core business plus adding new technology to the cars they already have.
The new RB17 track and road car designed by Adrian Newey that can reach speeds of 218 mph plus with a 1000 horse power. The price is $6.2 million and would require converting for road use. This is the second super car Newey has designed and built after the Aston Martin he completed a few years back.
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