The five reasons Aston Martin won the battle for Adrian Newey

Adrian Newey’s signing by the Aston Martin team has been hailed by team owner Lawrence Stroll as the “most exciting news” in the squad’s history.

The final confirmation, which came during a press conference at the team’s Silverstone factory on Thursday, ends a period of intense speculation about the design legend’s future – with no shortage of competitors trying to convince him to come on board.

But despite overtures from Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams, Alpine and McLaren throughout that spell after his departure from Red Bull was made clear, it was Aston Martin that came out on top.

During a 40-minute press conference at Aston Martin’s Silverstone factory on Tuesday where Newey and Stroll took the stage, the key factors that sealed the deal became pretty clear.

Feeling valued

After Newey had made his mind up at the Japanese Grand Prix to leave Red Bull, he was undecided in his head about what he wanted to do.

Initially, he and his wife Amanda had their sights set on a proper break from F1 – even potentially one that proved permanent and meant he never came back to F1.

But it was the interest that his Red Bull exit prompted, and especially the way that teams fell at his feet to try to get him on board, that proved critical in moving him away from a potential sabbatical and straight back at it.

From chats in hotel gyms with Stroll, to being offered attractive terms for a project that he felt enthused about, there is no doubt that Newey has been inspired by feeling truly valued.

And nothing perhaps proved that more than Aston Martin choosing to hold a full-on press conference for the announcement – rather than send out a simple brief press release.

And Newey will have further been enthused by the positive words that Stroll offered.

“Well Adrian is arguably the greatest in the world at what he does,” he said. “There’s nobody who’s come close to winning as many world championships.

“He’s a gentleman, he’s a winner, he’s a competitor, and he has the passion and desire to win, as do I and most of the people in this building.”

And as Newey himself said about the man who convinced him to join: “Lawrence’s passion and commitment and enthusiasm is very endearing. It’s very persuasive.”

Going full in at the start of a journey

While Newey had plenty of options up and down the F1 grid, one element that has emerged as important to him is something…