Revealed: What Adrian Newey is looking at on rival cars in F1 grid investigation

Adrian Newey quite often takes the chance to look at other cars on the grid when he can, sometimes with notebook in hand, and he has now explained why he does so.

The feted designer will be heading for pastures new in 2025 after almost two decades with Red Bull, though that destination is yet to be confirmed – with Aston Martin and Ferrari both reported to be in the running for his signature.

Adrian Newey explains what he looks at in rival cars on grid walks

Prior to races, Red Bull’s chief technology officer is often seen walking the grid and taking a look at rival cars when he gets the chance, even ones which are less competitive than his.

When asked about that on Red Bull’s in-house Talking Bull podcast, Newey believes the value of looking for inspiration should not be underestimated – even if it does not lead to direct copies for design solutions.

“I think curiosity is such a valuable thing,” he said.

“It can be curious about, obviously, I’m well known for looking around on the grid.

“It’s looking at what other people are doing and just thinking, ‘Okay, why are they doing that?’ And that doesn’t necessarily mean you then directly copy it.

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“It just is trying to understand other people’s thought processes and whether we can learn anything from them.”

Newey, whose designs have powered World Championships for Red Bull, Williams and McLaren over a period of decades, explained that he has taken inspiration from not just cars in the past, but from elsewhere.

When asked if it was just technical areas from which he drew inspiration for ideas in the past, Newey responded: “It’s a very good question. It is from a variety of things – of course, it’s primarily technical process.

“But I suppose, first of all, it’s understanding the principles of what you’re trying to achieve, and then looking at solutions.

“But looking around in, to an extent, nature, which has become quite a big thing, where a lot of engineers are studying bird flight in more detail, insect flight, how some sharks, etc. can be so efficient, all that sort of thing, the biometrics, it’s become quite a big thing.

“And certainly, if I look at some of the solutions that birds have for very high efficiencies, then there are things that have been learnt and are applied.

“I’m not saying necessarily that’s been applied here, but there are things like the air intake, which was something I did way back at Williams, and then I think it’s something I’ve carried forward ever since, which really came from looking out of the window of a little propeller aircraft and looking at how the intake was.

“We had seen a similar problem on a Formula car, where you’ve got an intake just behind the helmet. So that aircraft solution was elegant, and that’s what we applied on the Williams back in ’97, so I think I do always try to keep my eyes open.”

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