Adrian Newey: The making of an F1 design genius

Today, Adrian Newey is widely recognised as an F1 design genius, with his cars having been driven to 14 drivers’ world titles, 12 constructors’ titles, and more than 220 Grand Prix victories. 

But where did his extraordinary talent for designing (and engineering) racing cars come from? That’s the topic of the latest episode of And Colossally That’s History, which delves into the roots of Newey’s unprecedented success.

Matt and Richard share incredible tales from Newey’s youth which foreshadow the man he’d become, including the time he used ingenuity and a rules loophole to avoid punishment at school. 

There’s also plenty of chat about Newey’s career before his big breakthrough with Williams in the early 1990s, such as the transformational work he did in sports prototypes, the period he spent race engineering a pair of Indycar legends, his disastrous first foray into Grand Prix racing, and the giant-killing successes with F1 minnows Leyton House that caught Patrick Head's attention. 

Along the way you’ll learn how Adrian acquired and honed the skills and design preferences that would later make him the most valuable technical brain in the F1 paddock.

Oh, and listen out for Matt's anecdote about the amazing declaration former McLaren boss Ron Dennis once made to him about Newey…

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