Newey is ready for Aston Martin, but is it ready for him?

Aston Martin’s expected confirmation later this morning that it has signed design legend Adrian Newey is a game-changing moment for the team.

For if there is one individual who has a bit of a midas touch, then Newey – having helped guide his three most recent teams (Williams, McLaren and Red Bull) to multiple championship success – would be your prime candidate.

His tally of 12 constructors’ titles, with 13 drivers’ championships having been won in his cars, says all you need to know about his influence.

But success in F1 is never down to just one individual. The greatest geniuses in the world will never achieve success if they do not have the right people and infrastructure around them.

Even someone as brilliant as Newey needs access to the most modern facilities and technology, and to have around them a strong calibre of staff who can manifest ideas and guidance into reality.

This is something that Newey himself will have been more than well aware of, and it probably explains a great deal about why he wanted a factory visit – taking place in secret before the Spanish Grand Prix – to see for himself just what Aston Martin could offer.

So is Aston Martin, which is enduring a pretty challenging season on track right now, in a position to be able to give Newey the environment he needs to thrive?

Newey would not pretend for one second that he is a one-man band who can miraculously get parachuted into a team and, all by himself, design, create, manufacture and build a race-winning car.

His strength is in acting as the powerhouse for all the brains of a team – outlining a global vision for the car that has its elements then realised by those working around him.

It’s not for him to design every last nut and bolt of an F1 car, but he’s there to think bigger picture, challenge areas he thinks are not up to his standards, and stay one step ahead of the opposition.

As Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache said about Newey’s input there: “On a daily basis, he’s not part of our process. He’s more coming from the sideways and trying to help us or challenge us on different aspects of the team – it could be mechanical design, aero or vehicle dynamics.” 

For Newey to succeed in such a role, he needs a strong team around him who can manifest his vision – and be trusted to get on with what he wants.

He had that…