When Red Bull aero wizard Adrian Newey almost bankrupted Aston Martin

Red Bull recently shared the anecdote where the team's aero wizard Adrian Newey almost bankrupted Aston Martin while working on the Valkyrie project. Aston Martin Lagonda and Red Bull advanced technology had combined to produce its first hypercar.

The project turned out to be a success as the car has received acclaim all over the industry. There was, however, a moment where the whole thing could have proven to be far from reality. As told by Red Bull boss Christian Horner, Newey, notorious for his single-minded focus on making the best possible product does not focus on the financials.

When it came to finances, Horner joked that the whole project put Aston Martin on the brink of bankruptcy. Horner said:

“It was a very different experience, because working with an OEM, even a small OEM like Aston, obviously cost is absolutely driven into anything in everything they do. And of course, we’ve got Adrian Newey, who probably doesn’t know where our finance department even is! He created an incredible, incredible car, that almost bankrupted Aston Martin! But I mean, it is an absolute gem of a car."

He added:

“And many lessons of course, we have a set of regulations in Formula 1, but they’re nothing like the road stipulations and regulations, so it was a huge learning exercise from that side of things. And yeah, it was an interesting exercise and one that the Advanced Technology side of our business learned a huge amount from, and I think will stand us in good stead for the future.”

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Red Bull talks about how the team is branching out in terms of collaborations

Christian Horner also talked about how Red Bull was spreading their wings and looking beyond F1 as well. For instance, the brand is now collaborating with KTM in MotoGP and has helped the team make noticeable progress as well. He said:

“We’re working on bikes, we’re in MotoGP with KTM, working on projects there, again taking knowledge and know-how and applying it in other areas. It’s an exciting time for the business and the team is continuing to grow, and as a marketing platform Formula 1 delivers so much. We’ve attracted some great partners with us and now we’re working with those partners and working in other areas."

In F1, Red Bull have been the benchmark in the last couple of seasons and the kind of success the team has achieved has seen many teams trying to either copy or hire important personnel.

After winning the title in 2021, the team's first since 2013, the team has not looked back and is at its dominant best in the sport right now.