31 Facts About Adrian Newey

1.

Adrian Newey is the chief technical officer of the Red Bull Racing F1 team.

2.

Adrian Newey is one of the most successful designers, winning eleven Constructors' Championships with three different Formula One teams, and with seven different drivers winning the Drivers' Championship driving Adrian Newey's designs.

3.

Adrian Newey was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England on 26 December 1958 to Richard and Edwina Newey.

4.

Adrian Newey's father was a veterinarian and his mother was an ambulance driver during the Second World War.

5.

Adrian Newey was asked to leave Repton at the age of 16 after an incident at a Greenslade concert at Repton's 19th-century Pears School Building organised by the school's sixth formers, where he pushed up the sound levels on the band's mixer, cracking the building's stained glass windows.

6.

Adrian Newey gained a first class honours degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Southampton in 1980.

7.

In 1984, Adrian Newey moved to the March Indy car project, working as designer and race engineer for Bobby Rahal at Truesports.

8.

Adrian Newey formed a close friendship with Rahal, which would impact their careers some fifteen years later.

9.

In 1986 Adrian Newey moved to Kraco to engineer Michael Andretti's car, while his March 86C design won the CART title and 1986 Indianapolis 500 with Bobby Rahal.

10.

Unable to influence the design of the 1997 McLaren, Adrian Newey was forced to attempt to improve on the Neil Oatley design while concentrating his efforts on the 1998 car.

11.

However, the team's lead driver, David Coulthard, who had driven Adrian Newey-designed cars for years for both Williams and McLaren, managed to secure third place and six points in the Monaco Grand Prix.

12.

On 14 November 2010 when Red Bull won the World Drivers' Championship with Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Newey became the only F1 designer to have won Constructors' Championships with three different F1 teams.

13.

On 8 June 2014, Red Bull Racing announced that Adrian Newey had extended his contract for the next few seasons, giving Adrian Newey a wider responsibility including "new Red Bull Technology projects".

14.

Adrian Newey is an avid sports car collector and driver, having participated in the Le Mans Legend races for a few years.

15.

Adrian Newey destroyed a Ford GT40 while competing in 2006, but escaped with only a cut finger.

16.

Adrian Newey later wrecked a Jaguar E-Type at the Goodwood Revival Meeting.

17.

On 15 June 2010, during the Sony E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference, it was revealed that Adrian Newey collaborated as the chief technical officer for the video game Gran Turismo 5 for the PlayStation 3.

18.

On 2 July 2010, Adrian Newey was rewarded with his own Red Bull RB5, out of regard for his achievements with Red Bull Racing since he joined the team in 2007.

19.

Adrian Newey first drove the car up the hill at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

20.

On 8 August 2010, Adrian Newey was involved in an accident whilst taking part in the Ginetta G50 Cup at the Snetterton circuit as a guest driver.

21.

Adrian Newey was spun into the path of Tony Hughes, and his car sustained a heavy side-on impact.

22.

Adrian Newey was taken to hospital for precautionary checks, but sustained no serious injuries.

23.

Adrian Newey was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to motorsport.

24.

On 10 October 2018, Adrian Newey was announced as an advisory board member of the forthcoming W Series, a racing championship for women based on Formula 3-homologated Tatuus T-318 chassis.

25.

Adrian Newey married his second wife Marigold in 1992 and they separated in 2010.

26.

Adrian Newey has been married to Amanda "Mandy" Smerczak since August 2017.

27.

Adrian Newey is the daughter of South African actor Ron Smerczak.

28.

Adrian Newey's son Harrison is a racing driver, competing in his first full season of motor racing in 2015, finishing as runner-up in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship and racing in German Formula 4.

29.

Adrian Newey went on to race in the MRF Challenge over the winter before stepping up to the European Formula 3 Championship for 2016.

30.

Adrian Newey drove in the 2019 British GT Championship in a Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 in the fifth race at Silverstone.

31.

Adrian Newey-designed cars have won eleven World Constructors' and twelve World Drivers' championships.