Adrian Newey was questioned about his rumored high salary upon joining Aston Martin.
The F1 team based in Silverstone proudly declared that the brilliant car designer Newey has become part of their team for the next phase of his career.
Lawrence Stroll announced that he will also become a shareholder in the Aston Martin F1 team.
As per the BBC report, his salary will amount to £30 million, including possible bonuses.
When asked by the BBC about the value he brings to Aston Martin that justifies such a large fee, Newey responded, “Better ask Lawrence… I don’t know. I’m just me. I am in a very fortunate position where I don’t need to work now. I could retire and have a comfortable lifestyle very easily. But I still love the job that I’m doing.”
For Newey, the decision to join Aston Martin was not a given.
He said, “When I decided to leave Red Bull in late-April, I genuinely had no idea what to do next. Would it be to retire and sail around the world? Would it be to do something completely different? Would it be to stay in F1? Me and Mandy, my wife, decided not to make a decision for a while, to let it sink in. In June I thought that I wanted to be a designer in motor racing ever since I was 10 or 12, and have been lucky enough to achieve that. I still love the job. The challenge to make the car go faster gets me up in the morning.”
When asked if he lost some passion towards the end of his time at Red Bull, Newey admitted, “It’s easy to become a bit stale. I had a little bit of that in 2005 with McLaren. I was getting stale and needed a new challenge. I started to feel a bit of that through the second half of last year, and into this year. My reasons for leaving Red Bull were multiple. But certainly, that was one of them.”
Newey was filled with joy when describing the reception he received at Aston Martin’s headquarters for his unveiling. “The reception I had from all the employees here, when I walked out to address the factory, was a ‘pinch yourself’ moment,” he said. “It’s a side of it that I never think about. My passion is to make the car go faster. I try to keep myself immune from the outside media.”
