Is Red Bull's aero wizard Adrian Newey overrated?

With 204 wins and 23 titles over 36 years, Red Bull aero wizard Adrian Newey's F1 record is illustrious and worthy of unparalleled praise. In 2024, he has once again redefined what it means to be dominant by building a car that's going to carry the legacy of its predecessor.

Last year, Adrian Newey's creation, the RB19, won 21 of the 22 races. The car was not only fast but reliable as well. Coming into 2024, Red Bull has once again dominated the first two races. While Newey deserves all the praise in the world, there is a school of thought that assumes "Adrian Newey = Success" and feels he could have transformed an outfit as disappointing as Ferrari's. There are others as well that have attributed the success of Red Bull to just one man. Is there truth to that, or is the aero wizard overrated in F1?

Before we answer that, let's recap Adrian Newey's F1 stint that goes back to 1988, when he debuted with Leyton House/March.

Red Bull wizard's F1 journey

March/Leyton House(1988-90)

Newey made his debut in F1 with March in 1988 and was part of the squad until 1990, when it was renamed Leyton House. A cash-strapped operation meant that while Newey showed his prodigious talent, the results weren't there. He would, however, catch the eye of Patrick Head at Williams, who brought him under his wing.

Williams(1991-96)

Wins: 45

Titles: 7 (3 drivers + 4 constructors)

Adrian Newey joined the team for the 1991 F1 season, and his impact was evident as soon as the season began. Williams had invested heavily in technology, and that meant a venture into active suspensions. The team made significant developments over the season, and Nigel Mansell gave Ayrton Senna a tough fight before eventually losing to him in 1991.

From 1992, however, Williams had everything it needed to be successful. A strong engine from Renault backed up Adrian Newey's active suspension design to build a rocket ship. The car was more than a second clear of everyone and would romp to the titles in 1992 and 1993.

The 1994 and 1995 F1 seasons saw Adrian Newey designed Williams lose to the Michael Schumacher-Ross Brawn combination. With the German moving to Ferrari, he was out of contention in 1996, and Newey's Williams once again won the title with Damon Hill.

Newey would leave Williams over a dispute in the management structure, and when McLaren's Ron Dennis came calling, he would jump ships.

McLaren(1997-2005)

Wins: 44

Titles: 3 (2 drivers + 1 constructors)

At McLaren, Newey's first impact was in 1998, when the car was just a masterpiece. In the hands of Mika Hakkinen, Adrian Newey's creations won the title in 1998 and 1999.

The rest of his stay at McLaren was tumultuous. The Mercedes engine was not the most reliable, and even Newey didn't build the best of cars. During all this, the Ferrari juggernaut took off in 2000 and dominated the sport for 5 consecutive years.

By the end of 2005, Newey was unsure of his future. The Ron Dennis style of management didn't work for him, and the results were just not there. It was during this time that Red Bull came calling, with Christian Horner, David Coulthard, and Helmut Marko enticing Newey to a completely different challenge. And so in 2006, Newey joined Red Bull and has since been with the team.

Red Bull (2006-Present)

Wins: 115

Titles: 13 (7 drivers + 6 constructors)

Red Bull was at a nascent stage when Adrian Newey joined the team. The team continued to build and grow, and it was only in 2009 that it first emerged as a frontrunner. After planting the flag and finishing second in the championship in 2009, the team won the title the very next year.

From 2010 onwards, Red Bull went on a 4 year dominant run until 2013 with Sebastian Vettel. After being caught off-guard by the regulations change in 2014, the team had a 7-year title drought that went from 2014 to 2020.

2021 was the first season where Red Bull once again had the car to fight for the title, and Max Verstappen delivered a brilliant season. Since then, the team has not looked back, dominating in 2022 and 2023 as well. In all likelihood, more of the same can be expected in 2024 as well. Overall, as we can see, this has been a brilliant journey.

Let's get to the crux of the matter, is Adrian Newey overrated in Formula 1?

Is Adrian Newey overrated?

Now that we've perused through what has been a remarkable career of success and achievements, can we attribute the success solely to Newey and the brilliant cars that he's produced?

The answer to that is, "No, we cannot." Here's why.

Lengthy and multiple unsuccessful lean periods

One of the biggest critiques that come up to claims of Newey being solely responsible for the success of the respective teams, is the hugely unsuccessful stints that the designer has had in his career.

The 1990s were a successful time for Adrian Newey, but the Red Bull maestro experienced an unsuccessful decade after Mika Hakkinen won in 1999, and had to wait until 2010 to win another title.

Similarly, from 2014 to 2020, Red Bull was not even a title contender in F1 and went on a seven-year barren run before bouncing back in 2021. Even during these lean years, Newey was part of the squad. For anyone who claims to have Adrian Newey in the team yields titles and success, this has to be the biggest anomaly.

Falling out at both Williams and McLaren

What many don't remember is that when Red Bull approached Adrian Newey, his relations at McLaren were at an all-time low. His relationship with Ron Dennis was not the best and the cars that Newey had built during that time fell short of expectations.

Even when Newey left Williams, one of the reasons was a dream of being a shareholder with the team, which was something neither Frank Williams nor Patrick Head agreed with.

In 2006, when Newey first moved to Red Bull, he was still perceived as a genius, albeit a flawed one. He hadn't tasted the success he would have liked, and things were not as ideal. Recency bias might make us believe that Adrian Newey has never failed, but this period was a very tough one for him.

Why did he fail?

Well, Newey has had three specific periods where he's failed to win. The first was the two-year run from 1994–95 when the Michael Schumacher-Ross Brawn combination at Benetton was too much for Damon Hill at Williams. Then came the lean period at McLaren, and it was a function of the Todt-Schumacher-Brawn trio working in unison at Ferrari while McLaren was a bit of a mess under Ron Dennis.

Ron and Newey butted heads far too many times, and the partnership was just not efficient. After his stint at McLaren, Newey's final lean patch came during the turbo hybrid era, when Mercedes's dominance was at its peak. Red Bull with a Renault power unit just couldn't compete, and it took years for the team to build its way back to the top.

Why did he win?

There is an argument to be made that Adrian Newey producing the best cars on the grid coincides with other facets of the team performing well. In 1992 and 1993, Williams was considered the most technologically advanced team on the F1 grid and also had the best engine supplier in Renault.

To add to the mix, McLaren was reeling from Honda leaving the sport and the primary contender for Williams was in bad shape. When Newey moved to McLaren, he was the trump card for Ron Dennis at the time, but he also had an elite driver in Mika Hakkinen. With Ferrari still building up the structure that produced a title-winning juggernaut, the Michael Schumacher-Ross Brawn combination fell short.

Finally, if we talk about the two Red Bull eras, the impact of having a team principal like Christian Horner cannot be ignored. The team was one of the first to adapt quickly to the ban on in-season testing, while competitors Ferrari and McLaren struggled. Having an elite talent in Sebastian Vettel cannot be discounted either, as it takes something special to overcome the pressures of a title battle in 2010 and 2012.

In the ground effect era as well, Newey's brilliance has been a shining light, but so has been the brilliant driving of Max Verstappen, who helped Red Bull win all but one race in 2023.

It is a team that wins

The most important thing that many forget when attributing team success to one individual, is that the entire unit has to perform to get the best result. If you have a great designer but a poor driver, a poor power unit, and a below-par operational unit, you can't win.

The major reason why Red Bull has dominated with Adrian Newey, or why Williams or McLaren won, was because these teams enabled Newey to do his magic at various points. You take away those conditions and you see even the greatest F1 designer get neutralized.

How should Adrian Newey be rated?

Adrian Newey is an integral part of Red Bull or any team he has achieved success with. But it might be a step too far to assume that the credit for the success falls entirely on his shoulders.

If you want to build a title-contending team and a dominant outfit, you need to check quite a few boxes. You need an elite driver who can extract the most from the car, you need a great operational unit in place, you need a strong power unit, you need a designer like Adrian Newey, you need a team devoid of internal politics, and you need a leader who holds everything together. Adrian Newey is an integral part of the whole setup but he will not outweigh the entire team.

In the end, how good is Adrian Newey? The best, but will he alone turn around the fortunes of a team? Probably not.