Newey expected departure at Red Bull: 'I would have called you crazy'
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- Ludo van Denderen
Adrian Newey is no doubt counting down the days before he gets back to work. After a mandatory gardening leave following his years at Red Bull Racing, he will start at Aston Martin on the first working day in March. When Newey looks back on the past period, the designer frankly admits he totally did not expect it 12 months ago.
It is a big loss for Red Bull Racing: Adrian Newey is no longer working for the team he helped make great, which took some getting used to for the Austrians, but certainly also for himself. Speaking to Auto, Motor und Sport, Newey says of his departure: "I think if you'd said to me 12 months ago would I be leaving Red Bull and then now ultimately starting again I'd have said ‘no, you're crazy'."
"But for various reasons I felt I wouldn't be true to myself if I stayed at Red Bull so the first difficult decision was exactly that do I stay or not at Red Bull. So I obviously came to the conclusion that in being honest with myself, I couldn't," Newey said.
Newey reflected on sitting on the beach
Meanwhile, Newey is ready for his new adventure, although things could have turned out differently. The Briton claims to have seriously thought about quitting. "With my wife Mandy, we discussed various things, one is obviously I'm in the lucky position that I don't need to work financially, so could have been simply retire and sit on the beach," Newey states.
Working in the America's Cup (sailing, ed.) or perhaps for one of the street car manufacturers were also options. However, he chose to stay in motorsport. "If I was going to stay in racing then I might as well stay in Formula 1 assuming people wanted me."
Teams in F1 lined up and Aston Martin managed to hire Newey. "I really came to the conclusion that I actually did want to carry on working, that I'd get bored doing nothing. And so if I was going to work, then why not continue doing what I've always wanted to do and have enjoyed doing," concluded Newey.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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