The ‘grossly underpaid’ £30m deal for Adrian Newey amid ‘step down’ question

Not wanting to get involved in a bidding war for Adrian Newey and his “ego”, Sky F1’s Craig Slater says Aston Martin will see his £20m to £30m salary as a “bargain”, especially if they win titles.

Announcing back in May that he would be leaving Red Bull next season, Aston Martin ended speculation about the design guru’s future when they confirmed on Tuesday that he’d join the team in March 2025.

Did Aston Martin get Adrian Newey at a bargain price?

Taking up the newly-created role of Managing Technical Partner, the 65-year-old will lead Aston Martin’s design team into 2026 when Formula 1 has its biggest shake-up ever with all-new cars and new engines.

Aston Martin are hoping Newey can replicate the success he achieved with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull where he won a total of 25 championship titles.

All that for the “bargain” price of £20million to £30 million a season.

The reported salary will make the Briton one of the highest-paid people in the paddock as he’ll only be earning less than multiple World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

However, Aston Martin can thank the likes of Ferrari and Alpine for Newey’s “grossly underpaid” salary as they bowed out of a bidding war for the design legend’s services.

“He’s ruthless, he also has an ego. Adrian, he wants to be paid what he thinks he is worth,” Slater told Sky F1.

“It’s interesting when he came on the job market, when he announced his departure from Red Bull around the time of the Miami Grand Prix in May, there was an assumption he would go to Ferrari. And then we heard that Mercedes were interested, that Williams were also keen on him, McLaren wanted to maybe take him back as well, Alpine put in a late bid.

“What a number of those teams explained to me was they did not want to get into a bidding war for Adrian Newey because they knew his salary expectations would be big.

“So you wonder if even the amount of money he is being paid, which I understand to be a basic salary in excess of £20 million, rising towards 30 million if bonuses are factored in, if he gains the success he has previously then that, I think, is money that sees him grossly underpaid for what he contributes to the overall operation.

“It puts him in a bracket with the very top driver, only Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are paid significantly more than that. Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, is paid less than that.

“Formula 1 nowadays is as much as about people as investment and Newey just has this three-dimensional and big picture way of seeing a car design project. he can solve problems and come up with concepts.

“Since he has stopped day-to-day work at Red Bull, we’ve seen how they’ve been unable to respond and fix some issues that have come up with their car.

“I think they believe this is money well spent at Aston Martin and maybe even at these sums they’ve got a bargain here.”

More on Adrian Newey’s decision to join Aston Martin

👉 What Aston Martin’s grand, sleek unveiling says about Adrian Newey’s big arrival

👉 Five reasons why Adrian Newey’s big-money Aston Martin move makes sense

Adrian Newey to Aston Martin ‘seems a step down but…’

Newey, however, faces a stern test turning Aston Martin into a championship-winning team.

Although the team recorded an incredible eight podiums last season, this year they’re back in F1’s midfield with 74 points and no podium celebrations on the board.

While they are still maintaining the P5 they secured last year, they are by no means matching those results.

It begs the question, is this a step backwards for the design guru?

“Yes, on the face of it, it seems like a like a step down I suppose, leaving the table toppers to join a mid table team,” Slater said.

“But this is a team very much on the rise bankrolled by billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll, who took over what was Force India previously. Historically, this has been Eddie Jordan’s team, who, incidentally, has been managing Adrian Newey during this transfer process.

“But this team, a few years ago, which went out of business, it was efficiently worthless. It went into liquidation. Lawrence Stroll bought it.

“It is now conservatively worth between one and a half to two billion pounds. They’ve just had, or about to have, investment from two major US hedge funds who are going to take a minority stake in this team.

“Lawrence Stroll has also completely transformed the infrastructure, includes a brand new wind tunnel, there’s a state of the simulator as well.

“He will parade the man who is, without question, the star signing he has made the team thus far, and it’s a number of big names he’s already brought in, including Andy Cowell, who obviously saw the Mercedes engine program, Dan Fallows who was Newey’s senior lieutenant.

“So is a team that along with Honda power units, which they will take as the work supply from 2026 onwards, thinks it can go and dominate F1.

“Where Newey goes, titles tend to follow.”

Read next: The Red Bull exit timeline and Aston Martin offer that convinced Adrian Newey