By Dan Knutson
indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Adrian Newey, who designed cars that won three Indianapolis 500s, Formula One World Championships, F1 races around the world, including the 2001 United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and sports car championships, has signed as the technical director for Red Bull Racing in 2006.
Red Bull will field two teams in the upcoming F1 season that includes the seventh annual United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis on July 2. Californian Scott Speed is an integral part of Red Bull's F1's program. Next year, he will either be the third/reserve driver for Red Bull or one of the race drivers for junior team Squadra Toro Rosso.
Luring the highly talented Newey, 46, away from McLaren is a major coup for Red Bull. It is even better than hiring seven-time World Champion and four-time U.S. Grand Prix winner Michel Schumacher, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said.
"It's a massive recruitment for us," Horner told Reuters. "Given the choice of Adrian Newey or Michael Schumacher, I'd go for Adrian every time. It's of that kind of magnitude."
Newey's credentials are impressive. With a university engineering background in aeronautics and aerodynamics, he joined the race car manufacturer March in 1981. He designed the prototype sports cars that won the IMSA GTP championships in North America in 1983 and 1984. Moving up to the team's Indy car program, Newey was behind the March cars that won three straight Indianapolis 500 races from 1985 through 1987 with Danny Sullivan, Bobby Rahal and Al Unser.
When March entered F1 in 1987, Newey became the technical director of that project. He joined Williams in 1990, and in the following years he helped design the cars that won the Drivers World Championships and the Constructors World Championships in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997. Jacques Villeneuve, winner of the 1995 Indianapolis 500, won the 1997 F1 title. Williams also won the Constructors World Championship in 1994.
Newey then worked as technical director for McLaren from 1997 until the end of 2005, during which his cars twice won the Drivers World Championship with Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999 and the Constructors World Championship in 1998.
Hakkinen won a total of 20 Grands Prix for McLaren and would later say that one of his most treasured victories was his last, which came in a Newey-designed car in the 2001 United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In 2005, Newey's McLaren-Mercedes MP4-20 won 10 Grand Prix races at the hands of Kimi Raikkonen and 2000 Indianapolis 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya.
Newey takes up his post at Red Bull in February 2006. The 19-race season kicks off March 12 in Bahrain.
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2006 USGP tickets: Ticket information for the 2006 United States Grand Prix, scheduled for Sunday, July 2, is available online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, or by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
