Adrian Newey, £30m deal at Aston Martin F1 and why he’s worth it

With Aston Martin set to announce Adrian Newey’s arrival at the Formula 1 outfit, City A.M. asked paddock insiders whether he was worth his reported £30m package.

When you think of glitz, glamour and extortionate amounts of cash in sport Formula 1 is never too far away.

The travelling circus is a commercial juggernaut worth billions and drivers have traditionally been at the centre of its various transfer sagas.

This F1 season has been no different with the likes of Lewis Hamilton swapping Mercedes for Ferrari and Carlos Sainz leaving the Tifosi for Williams.

But the 2024 season has been one for off-track movement, too, with a number of senior engineers and technical staff using the topsy-turvy year to seek pastures new.

The single biggest transfer of the season – arguably bigger than seven-time world champion Hamilton’s relocation to Maranello – is that of Adrian Newey, who has been at Red Bull since 2006.

With the drama Formula 1 has so far thrusted upon its fandom in 2024 few would have thought it would be possible to squeeze even more life out of this season

F1 transfer intrigue

A number of outlets suggest the design guru, credited with being one of the ingenious minds behind the advancement of Formula 1 cars, will this week be announced as the biggest cog in the Aston Martin machine going forward, besides billionaire and biggest shareholder Lawrence Stroll perhaps. 

Some state his package is in the ballpark of £30m per season after bonuses and add-ons. But when City A.M. asked a number of Formula 1 paddock sources over the weekend not one said he wouldn’t be worth that price tag.

While one source theorised that he’s picked Aston Martin because some of the other teams – Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren – would already be further down the line on their future design projects, another speculated that Newey’s past comments about wanting to work with Alonso would have been a big pull towards his move to the brand adored by James Bond and British racing green car enthusiasts.

With the drama Formula 1 has so far thrusted upon its fandom in 2024 few would have thought it would be possible to squeeze even more life out of this season.

But Newey’s impending move confirmation will only ramp up calls to describe this year as one of the greatest this century in a sport that already seemingly had it all.