Lid lifted on Adrian Newey contract negotiations with two key attractions revealed

Eddie Jordan spoke about the professionalism of Aston Martin in their negotiations with Adrian Newey, alongside citing having Honda and Andy Cowell on side as two key factors in his arrival.

Newey opted to sign for Aston Martin from next season upon his Red Bull departure, where he will take up a role overseeing their technical team along with becoming an Aston Martin shareholder, with former team owner Jordan being involved in negotiations in his capacity as Newey’s manager.

Insight given into Adrian Newey negotiations with Aston Martin

Once it became known that Newey would be leaving Red Bull in the first quarter of 2025, now confirmed to be the start of March, he was not short of suitors for his signature.

Jordan confirmed that talks had taken place with Ferrari, Alpine and Williams in the process of deciding Newey’s next step, but the design great ultimately plumped for Aston Martin – citing team owner Lawrence Stroll’s “infectious” passion and commitment to the project that is being put in place at Silverstone.

But with a new factory having been built, Jordan added that two other factors also helped Newey reach his verdict – with Aston Martin having a works power unit deal with Honda from 2026 onwards, and the highly-successful former Mercedes High Performance Powertrains managing director Andy Cowell being in place as Aston Martin’s group CEO.

With the combination of resources and people in place, the former eponymous team owner believes Newey’s move to Aston Martin “breaks new ground” in Formula 1.

“I think Honda being a partner from ’26 will be important to Adrian, because he believes to have a strategic manufacturer online is crucially important,” Jordan explained on the Formula For Success podcast.

“To have Andy Cowell there, who we know – what a brilliant man. And he was the man behind all of those successes at Mercedes, [a] genius, and that hasn’t gone unnoticed that he’s obviously now in the fold with them.

“With Honda and with Adrian and with the people that he will get together, I have no doubt that it’s good.

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“It’s going to shake it up a bit, because other teams will [be] going to have to get up off their hind legs and tackle.

“Do I think that they can win a World Championship? There’s a lot of questions to be answered there.

“There’s all sorts of things about people, about drivers, but do I think that people will be attracted to Aston Martin because Adrian Newey’s there? Beyond any doubt.

“So from that point of view, strategically, when I hear that Lawrence [Stroll] said ‘bargain cheap’ and words like that, I don’t think he was belittling Adrian.

“I think what he was doing was saying that he has this vision, and it’s a passionate vision of which Adrian is a major part to it.

“And it’s not just the pencil drawing on the line, it’s Adrian Newey in a different capacity. Hence, he’s a shareholder.

“The stock and the position that he holds with inside the team is massive, and it breaks new ground. I mean, it’s a hallelujah time for everybody.”

Widespread reports last year suggested Newey had penned a new contract to remain with Red Bull, with Helmut Marko subsequently confirming that was the case .

Throughout the negotiation process in 2024, though, Jordan revealed the professionalism on show by Aston Martin was a clear indicator of the team’s intentions, and a sign to him that the team “know how to deliver”.

“I think this is an occasion where, truthfully, the actual dealing was nothing,” Jordan said.

“There was no argy-bargy, there was clarity, there was a willingness to perform on both sides. That’s all I can say.

“When it was announced at Monaco last year that Adrian was going to possibly look for another team…I was having dinner, and it was a call from Lawrence Stroll, and would I meet him on the Thursday?

“And I did, and I went along to his meeting where he had his financial guy and his accountant and his lawyer, and what they presented to me was nothing short of something like an acquisition of the Bank of England or something like that.

“It was so clinical, so clear, so professional. These guys know how to deliver, and that’s what I’m saying to you: The value of him being an entrepreneur has huge ramifications, positive ramifications.”

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