Adrian Newey's F1 SPY details emerge on rivals

Adrian Newey

Newey SPY details emerge on F1 rivals

Adrian Newey will join a rival team in 2025 after leaving Red Bull

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 17 February 2025 13:58 Updated: 16:34

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Adrian Newey has opened up on the methods he uses to snoop on his Formula 1 rivals on the grid in a recent interview.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the design legend will move to a F1 competitor after he announced his exit from Red Bull in 2024.

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Following a period of gardening leave, Newey will join Aston Martin in March as their managing technical partner, in a bid to launch them into the championship fight for 2026.

The 66-year-old has designed championship winning cars for iconic names on the F1 grid over the course of his career, including Nigel Mansell’s 1992 Williams FW14B, Mika Hakkinen’s 1998 McLaren MP4/13 and of course Max Verstappen’s dominant Red Bull RB19.

Adrian Newey will join Aston Martin in March

Adrian Newey leaves behind an incredible legacy at Red Bull

To celebrate Verstappen's 2024 championship success, click here to shop the 'UNSTOPPABLE' F1 world champion hoodie that features a chequered flag graphic and orange detailing in the shade of the Dutchman's home colours.

Will Newey bring intel from Red Bull to Aston Martin?

When an employee leaves a F1 team they usually embark on a period of gardening leave before they are contractually free to join a rival team, which stops personnel from delivering key intel to their competitors.

Newey’s period of leave ensured his absence for the majority of the 2024 season, with the designer missing from his usual spot on the grid, notebook in hand assessing his competitors' cars.

When asked in an interview with Auto Motor und Sport if he uses this time to spy on his F1 rivals, Newey confirmed the extent of his open 'espionage' on the grid.

Adrian Newey admits to snooping on his F1 rivals

“It's normally to try to look at what other people are up to,” Newey said.

“Occasionally I will then take that back to the guys at the factory and say look this could be worth copying, let's try it on our car and see if we can see what they're at.

“Other times I'm using it more to sort of 'ok well they've gone down this direction, what were they trying to achieve?' Then it's the sort of target of what somebody might be trying to achieve rather than the specific detail of how they've achieved it which interests me.”