Martin Brundle explains Adrian Newey’s ‘nasty habit’ after Aston Martin F1 move

The legendary F1 designer will leave Red Bull after 19 years and join Aston Martin in 2025

Martin Brundle alluded to Adrian Newey’s record of winning world championships at various F1 teams as a “nasty habit” following the design guru’s move to Aston Martin on Tuesday.

Newey, who will leave Red Bull next year to join Aston in March 2025, has won 13 drivers’ titles and 12 constructors’ championships in a distinguished career as an F1 car designer.

The 65-year-old’s move to Aston, confirmed on Tuesday, will see Newey team up with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll with an eye on new engine, power unit and chassis regulations in 2026.

Yet in turning down Ferrari – and a partnership with Lewis Hamilton in the process – Newey has committed to Lawrence Stroll’s ambitious Aston project. Newey will become a shareholder in the team, in addition to his £20m-a-year contract.

“Adrian Newey is a big name obviously in Formula One,” Sky F1 pundit and former driver Brundle told Sky Sports News on Tuesday.

“He’s had a nasty habit in his last three teams of being involved in multiple championship-winning chassis and team efforts.

“He’s known as a bit of a genius in the business and he sort of tends to bring success along with him. If you’re going to have Adrian with you, you need a certain amount of resource and control to go with that to make the best of his skills.

“But also we have 2026 coming up, which Adrian himself describes as the biggest step change in Formula One history due to the chassis and the aerodynamics and the engines all changing at the same time. And so he’s a man you’d want on board at that time.”

Martin Brundle alluded to Adrian Newey’s record of winning championships after his move to Aston Martin (Getty Images)

Newey tasted success at Williams and McLaren in the 1990s before moving to Red Bull in 2006.

The British designer was instrumental in Sebastian Vettel’s four-straight titles from 2010-2013 as well as Max Verstappen’s current run of success with three championships in a row.

His knowledge of the current generation of cars, utilising ground-effect aerodynamics, was key in Red Bull’s unprecedented domination of the sport last year, when they won 21 out of 22 races.

Newey with Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll on Tuesday (PA Wire)

However, seeking a new challenge and reportedly dissatisfied with the power struggle at Red Bull between Christian Horner on one side and Helmut Marko and Jos Verstappen on the other, Newey has moved to Aston and their plush new Silverstone HQ.

“The 2026 rules are an opportunity, they’re a reset for everybody,” Newey said on Tuesday. “When I said I’d be departing the old team [Red Bull], I was very flattered to have a lot of approaches from various teams.

“But Lawrence’s passion and enthusiasm is very endearing and persuasive. And to have the chance to be a shareholder and partner hasn’t been offered to me before. It became a very natural choice.”

F1 returns after a one-week break this weekend with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings by 62 points to Lando Norris with eight races remaining.