How Did Mastermind Adrian Newey Fool McLaren to Join Red Bull?

Apart from the drivers and team principals, Adrian Newey is probably the most-known name in the world of Formula 1. He is a genius aerodynamicist and has been at the helm of design teams of several teams in his career. His success, if looked through a lens of its own, is unparalleled, and his intellect is frightening for the other teams in the paddock. Having been attempted to poach by Ferrari in the past and Mercedes in 2023, Red Bull considers Newey to be their biggest strength.

Currently, the Chief Technical Officer of Red Bull, Newey, is the brains behind the ongoing dominance of Max Verstappen. But the reason he has been with the Milton Keynes-based squad in the first place is his successful stints at Williams and McLaren in the 1990s.

Before joining Red Bull in Formula 1, Newey worked with McLaren, where he designed the cars that won two driver’s championships and one constructors’ championship. And before that, in the early 1990s, he won four drivers’ championships and five constructors’ championships, putting his name on the list of one of the greatest brains in Formula 1.

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All of this contributed to Red Bull’s desire to sign him from McLaren at a time when the team was just getting started. Undoubtedly, the team has enjoyed success till now, with Newey leading the technical charge. So far, he has won six drivers’ championships and five constructors’ championships with Christian Horner.

How did Christian Horner poach Newey from McLaren?

Red Bull had just acquired the Jaguar team in 2005 when Horner was set to lead the team’s long-term project. Horner was managing the driver pairing of David Coulthard and Christian Klien and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi. But with his decade-long experience, Coulthard was the one who had worked with Newey at Williams. It was he who wanted the team to bring the British engineer on board. So, once the message was sent to Horner, things started to roll. Some fans might also say that the decline of McLaren started here, even though they won the championship in 2008. 

Coulthard’s message to the Red Bull bosses has been quoted by Motorsport Total as, “If you want to achieve anything, grab Adrian.” On the other hand, Red Bull’s boss Horner said in an interview with Sebastian Coe’s podcast ‘Extraordinary Tales’, “I’ve always been a huge fan of Adrian Newey. We grew up in the same area. He’s a few years older than me but I’ve always been a fan of his Cars […].”

It was after some time that Horner was convinced of getting Newey. He set up a meeting with Newey and his then-wife, Marigold. Coulthard came along to talk with the engineer in Monaco in 2005. And as all the Formula 1 fan know, things are really competitive, and no team wants to lose its talent. McLaren was also of the same idea then, but lacked long-term vision. They couldn’t spot what was happening behind the scenes.

Then it was Helmut Marko’s simple yet direct message to Newey, where he just said, “I’m Dr. Helmut Marko. I work for Red Bull. Call me.” It got things working in Red Bull’s favor, as in a later meeting, Horner and Newey clicked and almost sealed the deal.

The final blow from Red Bull to McLaren

Things were almost finalized between Red Bull and Newey. However, it wasn’t until their secret meeting, away from the eyes of Ron Dennis and McLaren, that things were sealed with Red Bull’s top management. Newey writes that upon demanding his salary, he was told to go back home. It took a secret meeting in Hanger 7 in Salzburg before the Austrians were convinced.

Newey knew his value. He knew what he was bringing to the table, and so did everyone else, especially former F1 driver Gerhard Berger. Things started to heat up as the salary negotiations went underway. Just then, the late Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz called up Berger for his views on the expensive transaction.

Then, in absolute confidence, Berger just said, “Gerhard: ‘Depends on how important it is to you to really make progress.’ I have to be very grateful to Gerhard for that. You have to let Dietrich know that he’s not a stingy man and that he doesn’t push around. If Gerhard Berger said I was worth the price, then I should have it.”

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And that’s how Newey got on board with Red Bull thus becoming an integral part of the squad until now. Despite approaches from Ferrari and Mercedes in their darkest times, the Briton refused to leave the squad.

The trust shown in him by the team is impeccable, as Horner was quoted by Sky Sports recently, saying, “Adrian and I work together, we’ve been sitting next to each other, for 18 years now. It was inevitable we were going to extend that. He’s a great part of the team, it’s great to have him with us and as the team continues to evolve we’ve got strength and depth, but to have Adrian for the longer term with us is fantastic for everyone in the team.“