Newey grounded by Red Bull after Aston Martin unveiling
The grandeur of Adrian Newey’s unveiling at Aston Martin was baffling – especially while he remains an employee of Red Bull.
It was reminiscent of when footballer Paul Ince posed for photographs in a Manchester United shirt while he was still a West Ham United player in 1989.
The photograph was exposed by the media before Ince had signed and he was heavily criticised for doing so in advance of completing the move.
That incident though was an unfortunate mistake, whereas Newey’s unveiling was very much intended for the public.
One wonders how it was received both in Red Bull’s Milton Keynes factory and indeed the energy drink’s HQ in Austria.
Seeing Newey paraded at Aston’s brand new factory at Silverstone while the 65-year-old spoke gushingly – and at length – about his delight at joining as a shareholder and Technical Managing Partner.
Adrian Newey, Aston Martin Racing Team
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
He did so against a backdrop displaying the Aston Martin logo yet also while he remains on the Red Bull payroll.
It was an unprecedented decision to hold such a press conference for a technical appointment when a press release would usually suffice, while a full press conference could have been held when Newey officially starts working at Aston Martin in March.
Autosport understands that after the unveiling at Aston, Newey returned to Red Bull’s Milton Keynes factory to resume working on the RB17 road car.
There was further scrutiny over his interview on the High Performance Podcast that coincided with his announcement, on which he said he had not been part of Red Bull’s F1 team since the Japanese GP.
Newey said: “I have been out of the Formula 1 team since after Suzuka, whenever that was late April, but I have still been working hard on the RB17 road car which is a side project.
“I will still be working on that until after that March 1st date but not from the factory as much, it will be more talking to the guys via video conference and emails and when the car starts track testing in the summer and attending the track testing.”
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, Adrian Newey, Lawrence Stroll, Owner, Aston Martin F1 Team, and Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
However, Newey has been at a number of races since that Japanese GP, and even sat on the pitwall two races later in Miami.
As a consequence, Autosport understands that he has been taken off the travel team and will no longer attend races. He had been scheduled to attend the US GP in Austin next month.
He will continue his work on the RB17 at the team’s factory once he returns from his current holiday. One wonders how he will be welcomed back.
