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Newey about copying ideas: We did that once at Ferrari

Newey about copying ideas: "We did that once at Ferrari"

19-06-2020 17:35 Last update: 17:39

GPblog.com

One of the leading figures in Formula 1 is Adrian Newey. For several teams he developed a winning car that was good enough for the world title. In the Podcast of Motosport Magazine he talks about his work as a designer and copying ideas.

Best performance as a designer

The designer has been in Formula 1 for decades and has more than earned his stripes. His new goal is to make Max Verstappen World Champion as he has done with other drivers in the past. The designer is most proud of a car he made for Red Bull from which Sebastian Vettel benefited. It gave the German four world titles. The RB5. This is not the car with which Vettel or any other driver became world champion.

"The RB5. I think maybe that's what I'm most proud of because it was the basis for the four championships that followed. The four cars that followed, the RB6 to RB9, were all derived from the RB5. That's where the start was made for the four world championships," Newey said.

Copying parts

In Formula 1, technical tours de force are regularly designed which some designers had hoped they would have come up with themselves. However, Newey can't bring such a situation to mind, but remember when they copied something directly from another team. Something that by the way occurs more often according to the Englishman but often can't be applied to one's own car.

"In general, copying something from another car doesn't really work because it has to fit in the whole package. But a couple of years ago Ferrari had lowered the top impact tube and the following year we took over immediately". This tube is on the side of the chassis which provides rigidity that should protect the drivers during a crash.