The 'Adrian Newey effect' is painfully evident at Red Bull and Aston Martin

Newey has to his name a total of twelve constructors' championships and no less than fourteen drivers' championships. A fifteenth if you want to count Max Verstappen's 2024 world title, although many at Red Bull Racing would say that Newey had hardly any involvement in the design of the car.

Because that was the story at the beginning of 2024, when Newey left Red Bull Racing and announced his switch to Aston Martin. Newey was supposedly not involved with the team anymore, and Pierre Waché had been the man designing the car for years. Yet, the figures don't lie. With or without Newey, there's a big difference.

Since Newey completely disappeared from the pit wall after the Miami Grand Prix in 2024, things went downhill quickly for the team. Red Bull had an enormous lead over the competition in 2023 and early 2024. The Red Bull seemed almost unbeatable, and many thought that Red Bull would continue to do so until the new regulations of 2026.

However, the tide turned quickly, as in no time at all, Red Bull Racing lost the lead, forfeited the world championship in 2024, and in 2025 it even seems a tough task for Max Verstappen to defend his world title.

Of course, this won't all be due to the departure of one man. After all, more than a thousand people work in a Formula 1 team. Yet, it's not the first time the impact is felt at a team when Newey leaves.

In 1991, Newey joined Williams, where he enjoyed great success with Patrick Head. World titles were won with Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, and Jacques Villeneuve. During those years, Williams also won the constructors' championship five times.

When Newey left at the end of 1997, it appeared Williams had won its (for the time being) last world title. Even more, in almost thirty years since Adrian Newey's departure, only eleven Grand Prix were won.

Newey then joined McLaren. The team had built a winning car for 1998 that Newey would not have been heavily involved with, but it's still another world title on Newey’s resume. This includes a second drivers' title in 1999 for Mika Hakkinen.

In the following years, McLaren could not clinch another title. They always finished second behind the dominant Ferrari, both in drivers' and constructors' championships. In 2005 there seemed a great chance for the title, but engine reliability issues ruined the title chances.

At the end of 2006, Newey closed the door behind him at McLaren. In 2007, McLaren was still in contention for the world title, albeit helped by 'Spy Gate,' and Lewis Hamilton won for the team in 2008. A long drought followed, which only ended in 2024.

Meanwhile, Newey caused the biggest upset of his career at Red Bull Racing. While Williams and McLaren were already winning machines, Red Bull was certainly not when Newey arrived in 2007. However, in a few years, Newey built a fast car and the team achieved four consecutive world titles in both the drivers' and constructors' championships.

Due to a poor engine from Renault, Red Bull didn't compete for the world title between 2014 and 2020. A switch to Honda reinvigorated Newey and led to Max Verstappen's first world title in 2021. Also, in developing the new ground-effect cars for 2022, Newey's experience played a crucial role. It proved to be the foundation for a winning streak lasting until 2024, although the constructors' title was lost that last year.

By that time, however, Newey was already out of the picture at Red Bull Racing and on ‘gardening leave’. In March 2025, he officially started at Aston Martin, where the first positive signs are already visible. Although Newey says he's mainly focusing on 2026, a clear progress has been seen since the new updates in 2025.

Where the updates under Dan Fallows from 2023 to 2024 actually made the team regress, the first updates in the Newey era hit the mark immediately. After not reaching Q3 in the first six Grands Prix and only scoring points by luck, Fernando Alonso benefits greatly from the new updates. Alonso qualified fifth in Imola, sixth in Monaco, and sixth in Canada. This also secures the much-needed points for the Spaniard and brings some much-needed positive spirit back into the team. Looking at the past, one might think it’s only a matter of time before Aston Martin clinches a world title.