↗ Nigel Mansell in Newey ’ s Williams FW14B in 1992 . This car is regarded as one of the most technically advanced F1 ® racers ever
CHANGING ERAS
That could have been the end , but in fact it was just the beginning . Newey ’ s approach had attracted some senior squads , and he teamed up with Technical Director Patrick Head at Williams in 1990 . Over the next seven years , their combined geniuses secured 59 wins , five Constructors ’ crowns and Drivers ’ titles for Nigel Mansell , Alain Prost , Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve .
That period , however , also involved huge tragedy , when Ayrton Senna died at Imola in 1994 behind the wheel of one of Newey ’ s cars . The incident , he has since admitted , caused him to question his future in the sport . However , once his mind was at rest , he knew it was not time to stop .
Instead , after back-to-back titles with the Williams FW18 and FW19 , he moved to McLaren in 1997 and success moved with him . Unable to influence that season ’ s machine , he focused on major regulation changes for 1998 that reduced the car width and introduced grooved tyres – and his first design for his new team , the MP4 / 13 , turned out to be the car to beat .
McLaren won both titles that season , with flying Finn Mika Häkkinen following up his triumph with a second title the following year . In 2000 , however ,
Newey ’ s stranglehold on the sport came to an end as ‘ Team Schumacher ’ emerged from the Ferrari stables and began five years of dominant success for the Scarlet Scuderia .
It was at this point that Newey almost joined Jaguar , but in the end a potential power struggle at the Fordbacked team put him off and , when McLaren matched their offer , he pulled the rug and stayed put .
Things were never the same again at McLaren , however , as Newey became disillusioned by management changes that reduced his technical control . Ferrari ’ s design duo of Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne , who had already enjoyed success at Benetton , created a series of dominant Ferraris while Newey ’ s self-admitted sub-par cars netted just eight wins in four seasons .
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Although McLaren returned to form in 2005 , narrowly missing out on the title to Renault , the writing was already on the wall . Newey had always felt he had unfinished business after financial limitations prevented him turning Leyton House from a backmarker into a top team , and he now saw an opportunity to make that happen with a new outfit called Red Bull .
“ The turbos were big clumsy cars pulled along by powerful engines ”
← Mika Häkkinen in Newey ’ s title -winning McLaren MP4 / 14 of 1999
↘ The ultra-slimline Leyton House CG901 Judd of 1990
Outside F1 ®, he has designed projects like the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Red Bull RB17 hypercars and America ’ s Cup yachts for Sir Ben Ainslie through Red Bull Technologies