The Race F1 Podcast And Colossally That's History: Adrian Newey - The making of an F1 design genius
Oct 17, 2025
Explore the fascinating journey of Adrian Newey, the design genius behind multiple F1 championships. Discover how his early tinkering in his family's garage and clever school antics foreshadowed his engineering brilliance. Delve into his experiences racing in IndyCar, innovative designs at Leyton House, and the ground-breaking work that transformed Williams' success. With captivating anecdotes and insights, this exploration reveals what makes Newey a true icon in the world of motorsport.
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Early Design Obsession
- Adrian Newey knew by age 12 he wanted to design racing cars and obsessively drew and customised car designs from magazines.
- He preferred building racing-car kits over warplanes and spent long hours alone designing in his father's workshop.
Exploit Rules By Reading Them Closely
- Study the rules to spot differences between intent and wording and then exploit them to innovate.
- Start early and practice regulation reading as a design tool, just as Newey learned from his father.
Garage Apprenticeship
- Newey grew up helping his father build a Lotus Elan kit and learned hands-on assembly and problem solving in the garage.
- That early mentorship seeded his rule-savvy, experimental approach to later F1 regulations and car design.
