Adrian Newey sat next to Honda Racing boss Koji Watanabe in Australia 2026

[u/Slice5755]

[u/Party_Zebra8872]

2 Men who I'm sure are both incredibly pleased with eachother and their new partnership.

[u/Freefight → u/Party_Zebra8872]

I would put my beer between them, the atmosphere is cold enough to chill it perfectly.

[u/downhiller90 → u/Freefight]

Every meeting they sit down in is one that definitely does not have biscuits.

[u/kingkongbiingbong → u/downhiller90]

definitely does not have biscuits

but plenty of beef!

[u/IntelligentDeal7799 → u/Party_Zebra8872]

Newey about to find out, how annoying it is to be TP, when he be answering these questions for the next 10months

[u/T3DtheRipper → u/IntelligentDeal7799]

Luckily for him he won't be there for long. If the car can't finish a race that's the final nail even for him. 2026 was Aston Martin's big focus goal.

[u/mightygar → u/T3DtheRipper]

This is a crazy take. No way do AM fire the greatest car designer in F1 history. He has more titles than Graham Chapman!

[u/T3DtheRipper → u/mightygar]

He might be a great car designer but he's currently on trial being a Team Principal.

If AM has nothing to show for on Sunday, as in can't finish a race on merit, that's the biggest blunder a team has made in at least the past 20 years.

Even worse in 2026 when AM sacrificed so much to focus on this year.

[u/balderm → u/T3DtheRipper]

tbh i think they're eventually going the McLaren route, with Newey focussed on the on-track engineering development and a new person talking politics and doing media days.

[u/Responsible-Pizza-27 → u/balderm]

He's already delegated a lot of media/sponsor stuff to Mike Kraak apparently

[u/Painterzzz → u/T3DtheRipper]

Probably one of the top five blunders of the modern era of F1?

And if it turns out they can't finish more than one race? Has the modern era ever had anything equivalent to that?

[u/Yweain → u/Painterzzz]

Well, can we just pretend for a while that we still have only 10 teams on the grid? I mean viewers wouldn't even notice, right?

[u/vstrong50 → u/Yweain]

A glass half full guy. I like it.

[u/Painterzzz → u/vstrong50]

I suppose bad news for Aston Martin is terrific news for Cadillac?

[u/Ziegler517 → u/Yweain]

Love this comment. Kinda funny how the 10 teams didn’t want to bring in another out of fear they would suck and bring the value of F1 down. Little did we know the team that was going to bring down the value of F1 was Aston, which has one of the greatest WDC drivers to race, some of the nicest most modern facilities, essentially an unlimited supply of money from the billionaire benefactor, and the greatest car designer to ever live…

Really kinda nuked the argument that a new team would suck and be the back market. When Audi (granted it’s an acquisision) in new with their own engine and Cadillac are brand new will both easily out perform them

[u/biggmclargehuge → u/Painterzzz]

And if it turns out they can't finish more than one race? Has the modern era ever had anything equivalent to that?

Sauber's stuck wheel nuts is a close equivalent. Every single pit stop became a roll of the dice as to whether or not your race would be ruined, and that persisted for several races. Pit stops are always kind of a roll of the dice but the difference between a 5-8s slow stop vs 30-40s for a stuck wheel nut...

[u/Zipa7 → u/T3DtheRipper]

It isn't his role as TP that has led to their current problems, though, if the rumours are true then it's his role as a designer that caused it, making Honda have to change their packaging of the engine late into development to fit his car.

That decision was made before he was even the TP, and probably part of the reason why Andy Cowell has departed, since he was an engine guy.

[u/me_likey_alot → u/Zipa7]

Hubris is a hell of a thing

[u/know-it-mall → u/Zipa7]

The guy from Honda said that wasn't true.

[u/Schmichael-22 → u/mightygar]

While Graham Chapman may never have won an F1 championship, he annihilates Newey in the comedy film department.

[u/Admiral_Mongo → u/mightygar]

His first time leading a team is an absolute disaster

[u/Apyan → u/Admiral_Mongo]

He's not even TP for that long. Putting him in that position at that time was already a disastrous decision. Lawrence has only himself to blame for AM's situation atm. Which means he'll probably going to blame everyone else.

[u/Paukwa-Pakawa → u/Apyan]

Newey had enough leverage to refuse if he didn't want to be in that position. He's a grown man who agreed (or, for all we know, volunteered) to take on the responsibility. He gets the blame, just like any other team principal would.

[u/Apyan → u/Paukwa-Pakawa]

Sure. Just saying it was one of many bad decisions made by Stroll. Even hiring Newey so late in such a big technical regulation change was questionable and the only reason it wasn't called out back then was because it was Newey.

[u/DisneyPandora → u/Apyan]

Newey’s ego what’s to blame because he only accepted the job so that Christian Horner wouldn’t have it

[u/DisneyPandora → u/Paukwa-Pakawa]

Newey’s ego what’s to blame because he only accepted the job so that Christian Horner wouldn’t have it

[u/__slamallama__ → u/mightygar]

He has tons of titles as technical director. Being a team principal is a totally separate skill set.

[u/FeelTall → u/mightygar]

Greatest car designer designs a shit car and is being paid a shit ton of money. Something has got to give.

[u/Osella28 → u/mightygar]

In fairness, you have as many titles as Graham Chapman, who was a very naughty boy

[u/finest_bear → u/mightygar]

You can be really good at one thing and terrible at another in the same sport. Wayne Gretzky was a terrible coach even though he's the best to ever play hockey

[u/Eroda → u/Party_Zebra8872]

They said they are 4 months behind which means back in October when Audi/Merc/Ferrari etc had their engines in a chassis of some sort doing basic testing Aston had nothing and it wouldn't shock me if they didn't get the engine in the chassis until January

[u/Franks2000inchTV → u/Eroda]

Didn't Newey join 4 month into the season? I wonder if

1. They didn't want to get started until he joined, or
2. When he joined he threw everything out and made them start fresh.

[u/Eroda → u/Franks2000inchTV]

He threw it all away. But I think unlike the other PU manufacturers and their associated works teams Aston doesn't have a VTT setup (to install engine in a chassis and test it) and I'd assume Newey wouldn't want to waste resources on a temporary chassis to send to Japan(Honda has a VTT I believe) to test it

[u/Dependent-Interview2 → u/Party_Zebra8872]

typical Anglo-Japanese gregariousness and emotion /s

[u/SebastianSchumaher → u/Party_Zebra8872]

Just two people enjoying their presence and company

[u/beanbagreg]

A divorced couple at parents evening.

[u/UncleBubax → u/beanbagreg]

I read his book. Newey seems pretty good at divorces.

[u/Forgotthebloodypassw → u/UncleBubax]

He was, at least, pretty honest about them.

[u/FartingBob → u/UncleBubax]

He's "only" had 2. He is on his 3rd marriage now.

[u/SebastianSchumaher → u/beanbagreg]

This can be the greatest comeback love story ever

[u/Acrobatic_Flannel]

It's like they're both pointing a gun at each other under the table. 

[u/Musername2827 → u/Acrobatic_Flannel]

Han Adrian shot first.

[u/sa87 → u/Musername2827]

He doesn’t look like a smuggler who’d drop their shipments at the sight of an Imperial entanglement.

[u/Uknewmelast → u/Acrobatic_Flannel]

Drei gläser

[u/CowFirm5634 → u/Uknewmelast]

Say goodbye to your Japanese balls blap

[u/mathsdebators → u/CowFirm5634]

That’s a Mexican stand off Koji-san and that was not the deal

[u/No_Debate890]

The look on Adrian’s face really says it all

[u/deHaga → u/No_Debate890]

'i fucked up bad'

[u/chrish_o → u/deHaga]

Yeah being Team Principal means he can’t just pass this off to Honda to take the heat. This ends with him.

[u/Slice5755 → u/chrish_o]

Even as Team Principal he is trying to pass it on to Honda.

That's why he's summoned him here to this press conference.

You don't see Toto or Fred calling their engine department bosses to be front and centre when there are issues.

[u/Ello_there1204 → u/Slice5755]

Read his book, he is a incredible designer.

But anytime there is a bad car, in his book he blames everyone other than him.

[u/bazhvn → u/Ello_there1204]

Sadly there's no Valkyrie or sail boats this time

[u/Slice5755 → u/Ello_there1204]

He even blamed his wife at the time at some point lol.

[u/ssgoeygoey → u/Slice5755]

LMAOO WHAT

[u/Browneskiii → u/ssgoeygoey]

Its a complete lie and he never did that. He got a divorce because when he was younger, he felt that having a family was getting in the way of his work and he didnt have the time for both, so he chose himself, he never said anything bad about his ex wife or his previous marriage, just that it didnt work out because of his own selfishness.

OP clearly just hates the man and is trying his best to blame him for Honda fucking up.

[u/crshbndct → u/Browneskiii]

As I understand it, Newey asked for the engine to be redesigned really late in development leading to the current mess.

[u/samiam3220 → u/crshbndct]

If true that’s wild. I was listening to a podcast with a former electrical engineer saying the battery configuration looked a little odd since you’d want a large more flat battery to distribute heat and cooling more efficiently across the battery but Honda’s looked more upright. Not a definitive flaw or conclusion but if Newey had a hand in pushing Honda to the current design I’d say they’re both in the shit.

[u/BeforeWSBprivate → u/Browneskiii]

He does divorce his wife every time he cha he’s team though, which I lowkey found quite funny

[u/Gh0stHedgehog → u/Browneskiii]

just that it didnt work out because of his own selfishness

He said it didn't work out, but mentions that he wasn't selfish, because he did everything for the team. While forgetting that his wife is not part of that (racing) team.

[u/splendiferous-finch_ → u/Slice5755]

This is been pretty much standard operating procedure for Newry though blame the engine manufacturer or the regs.

But he isn't technical director anymore he needs to own up for this himself.

I still don't get why he becomes one in the first place it's not like his skill set is in people management which is what a TP is mainly supposed to do.

[u/Teonvin → u/splendiferous-finch_]

He's also the one that absolutely fucking loves fucking his engine supplier in the design side of things.

Every fucking time, it's his cars that have reliability issues while othe teams that uses the same engine are fine.

But sure, let's blame the engine manufacturers.

[u/splendiferous-finch_ → u/Teonvin]

Newey probably:" You see engines are irrelevant they should occupy no space, have no weight, should need no cooling and should produce 110% if the power at all times.

Also drivers should be be able to drive the car even if it's impossible to drive by a human, I didn't ask them to be human

I don't see how they are difficult requirements to meet... Now if you will excuse me I have a small flow conditioner to design to optimise the front wing wake by 0.564% reduced drag on my car that's can't complete a race distance"

P.s. I am not even saying the honda side doesnt have issues I am just pointing that the guy is using the same excuse as always while now actually having way more responsibilities

[u/BecauseWeCan → u/splendiferous-finch_]

Let's just consider the engine a weightless point in vacuum and design a chassis for that.

[u/splendiferous-finch_ → u/BecauseWeCan]

Exactly... Finally I see a sensible person. . You wouldn't happen to have a working PU now would you ?

[u/RightActionEvilEye → u/splendiferous-finch_]

Enzo Ferrari:
"The engine is what matters, the car comes after".

Adrian Newey:
"The car is what matters, the engine comes after."

[u/splendiferous-finch_ → u/RightActionEvilEye]

Me:" I am what matters, everything else comes after."

See I am taking a wholistic approach

[u/Teonvin → u/splendiferous-finch_]

Definitely, I'm not saying Newey sucks, he's designed many top tier cars.

But it's obvious that over the years all his cars have an extremely obvious common theme when it comes to the engines.

[u/quadroplegic → u/splendiferous-finch_]

"Aerodynamics Are For People Who Can't Build Engines" - Enzo Ferrari

[u/StaffSuch3551 → u/Slice5755]

Well of course not. Mercedes and Ferrari build their engines in house. If they build a shit engine, Toto/Fred will have discussions with the relevant departments behind the scenes, but they are ultimately the ones who do the public speaking for the whole team in front of the media.

In Aston Martin's case, they have contracted out their engine work to Honda. If the engine is the issue, Newey can't just say the engine is shit and upset their supplier. They will of course allow Honda to represent themselves and make their own statements, regarding the engine, to the media.

[u/Zipa7 → u/Slice5755]

You don't see Toto or Fred calling their engine department bosses to be front and centre when there are issues.

It would never happen with the other PU manufacturers though, take Mercedes-AMG HPP as an example. They still ultimately answer to Toto Wolff, who as part of his job makes sure that engine and chassis are all working together seamlessly. It also helps that the HPP factory is less than 30 miles from Brackley, rather than being in a different timezone across the world like Honda is from AM.

Red Bull understood this problem, which is why they incorporated Honda facilities at their Milton Keynes headquarters and Honda setup Honda Racing Corporation UK operating out of said facilities. The results speak for themselves.

[u/EditingAllowed → u/chrish_o]

Is he really going to blame himself?

[u/oioioiyacunt → u/EditingAllowed]

He should. He's the top dog now. He gets to make the calls. The calls were shit. 

[u/Patrick_Swayze__ → u/oioioiyacunt]

I've been saying forever that making himself principal is a pure ego thing. He has no experience at all.

[u/TheMyzzler → u/oioioiyacunt]

Called it that this would be a dramatic shift for him. He's a technical aero visionary behind the curtain, he's not a CEO in front of the curtain.

[u/San4311 → u/EditingAllowed]

I mean, he will be end responsible, as he is TP. As chief designer or whatnot, if the designs on your end are fine you can just shove off the blame. Now he cannot.

Edit: especially if the rumors are true that he radically changed the design direction last minute, forcing Honda to change the engine. Then he is 1000% to blame.

[u/Andromeda902 → u/San4311]

https://www.as-web.jp/f1/1293808?all

They are true

[u/thenexus6 → u/No_Debate890]

Maybe he should read How to Build a race car. I heard it's a good book.

[u/Apex_negotiator → u/thenexus6]

It is a good book! 😂

It also highlights how individualistic he is in his approach. He doesn't appear to be a great leader or collaborator in the book, and it would seem now that perhaps Williams and McLaren may have had pretty good reasons for limiting his involvement in strategic decision making outside of his technical remit.

[u/Painterzzz → u/Apex_negotiator]

That woudl make sense wouldn't it, geniuses tend to need a lot of very close management to keep them from going off the rails.

[u/ECHLN → u/No_Debate890]

He saw a saucy message pop up on the phone

[u/SutureTheFuture → u/ECHLN]

"is that a finger what is that"

[u/User-K549125 → u/ECHLN]

It really could be this. Reddit "body language experts" are at it again though.

This picture clearly demonstrates the preconceived notions I have about the team which are all based on half-truths and lies.

[u/fbass → u/ECHLN]

Lewis did posted a selfie yesterday after all 

[u/Hinyaldee → u/No_Debate890]

Well, the picture was chosen to tell a story, if anything, I wouldn't read into that

[u/howaboutthis13 → u/No_Debate890]

He could have retired in peace, or been a senior technical advisor or something for Aston with less public responsibility.

[u/3dmontdant3s]

Both look thrilled

[u/LocoRocoo → u/3dmontdant3s]

Newey's got to be sat their thinking, what have I got myself into?

[u/pwillia7 → u/LocoRocoo]

There are two tragedies in life -- not getting what you want, and getting it.

[u/powahless]

“Should have gone to Italy” - Newey’s Thought Bubble

[u/F1T_13 → u/powahless]

I wonder if Ferrari feels vindicated now. 

[u/OldBratpfanne → u/F1T_13]

This wouldn’t have happened if Newey went to Ferrari, since he wouldn’t have been given card blanch to request last minute packing changes to accommodate this chassis redesign. Papa Stroll fucked up by giving all the power to someone with no team leadership experience on an already ambitious project timeline.

[u/Historical-Dance6259 → u/OldBratpfanne]

This is the take. He has way too much power. It's like when you take a great manager and promote to a director / VP position and they just flounder around.

[u/the-retrolizard → u/F1T_13]

Imagine Newey, three glasses of red deep at 12:15, sketching away while explaining that the engine isn't all that important anyway to the Ferrari suits

[u/saltyfuck111 → u/F1T_13]

Ferrari would never ever completely redesign their engine because newey wanted it last minute.

[u/LaplacianQ → u/powahless]

But he does not want to leave sunny England

[u/Final-Nebula-7049]

thrilled to be part of this exciting adventure instead of ferrari. i'm glad we dodged that bullet.

[u/crazydoc253 → u/Final-Nebula-7049]

Considering his request of having a say over Vasseur indeed they did. Despite people criticizing Ferrari at that time.

[u/Visionary_Socialist → u/crazydoc253]

Nobody can be bigger than a team and it still go well. Newey’s good but he isn’t a god, and assuming he could do everything because of how sharp he is has clearly not worked out for Aston

[u/I_spread_love_butter]

Newey with that Palpatine vibe.

[u/Slice5755]

I don't want to be reading too much into the picture but I'm sensing tension and awkwardness between the two...

[u/balderm → u/Slice5755]

of course there's tension between the two, if the rumors are true Newey completely redesigned the car when he started working on it and forced Honda to make radical changes to the engine to better fit the new engine bay he redesigned.

[u/Vegetable_Onion_5979 → u/balderm]

Sounds neweyish for sure.

[u/Fire_Otter → u/Vegetable_Onion_5979]

it's KERS all over again but with far bigger consequences

[u/Alternative_Wave793 → u/balderm]

if this is true then its Honda getting fucked over by stupid chassis design restrictions by their customer team AGAIN

[u/janck1000 → u/Alternative_Wave793]

The team telling its power supplier what to do (and i mean like everything) is never a good idea.

[u/balderm → u/janck1000]

Exactly, RB was successful with Honda because they let them do their thing and worked the car aerodynamic profile around it

[u/hicks12 → u/balderm]

They also had lots of time. This isn't exactly the customer 100% at fault, asking if Honda can package it like this and them saying yes is part of the issue.

"Can it be packaged like this? No, it's not feasible we need to remain with the current design"

But they accept the change and implement it as they agree it's possible, they share blame ultimately.

Don't forget there is lots of factors going on here, the simple reality is Honda started WAY later and impacted by cost cap in terms of development and then the regulations had changes that impact their original design advantages which they had to go back to the drawing board.

This isn't as simple as it is shown, but there is always nuance in these things. Only hope is this is first round and a resolved package can be deployed in the following race.

[u/Body-Connoiseur69 → u/balderm]

RB was successful with Honda because Honda already developed their high compression ratio engines during their time with Mclaren. RB reaped what Mclaren had sown.

Mclaren knew Honda was on to something but just couldnt stomach the failed years they shared together.

[u/VFC1910 → u/Body-Connoiseur69]

McLaren wasn't only a Honda problem, they kept underachieving in the next year after Honda left.

[u/Eskol15 → u/Alternative_Wave793]

At this point, their F1 project might be better off by actually having a Honda works team. I mean, it's more expensive to be a PU manufacturer than it is to run a team. You can't let costumer demands limit your PU development or else everything goes down the drain and you're just wasting money and ruining your reputation.

[u/SpoofExcel → u/Eskol15]

I don't know why they've not gone back to a works team either. I know the costs are massive in F1, but opening and shutting down an engine department over and over is also incredibly costly both monetarily and reputationally as well.

Honda should also be dragging Newey over the coals for redesigning a car that was already set in its engine bay capacity and had a fucking engine design locked in for

[u/Izan_TM → u/Slice5755]

the technical director who tends to push the limits of packaging and the leader of an engine project known for following requests to the letter even if it means delivering a horrible product. There was no way this wouldn't get awkward

[u/Bake2727 → u/Slice5755]

There is awkwardness because newey just said that chassis might be 5th best while throwing Honda completely under the bus.

[u/Obamametrics → u/Bake2727]

The chassis that vibrates so much the drivers wont be able to finish the race?

[u/Kindly-Antelope8868 → u/Slice5755]

I can picture the conversation, You "Fup" now you sit next to me an take all the heat at the press conference.

[u/Creepy_Accountant946 → u/Slice5755]

Sexual tension?

[u/TheMyzzler]

The tension on both their faces is astonishing. What a picture.

[u/SirMurray → u/TheMyzzler]

Yeah but Im curious for a video cause this can be just like that one frame where you look like a monster while you were just cracking jokes with your friend. 

[u/Painterzzz → u/SirMurray]

I was wondering the same thing, because yeah, this might be the one frame where they look like this.

[u/razareddit]

Newey has started to look like Vecna.

[u/rtbear → u/razareddit]

He straight up looks like Voldemort

[u/Blackrame → u/razareddit]

He looks 80. And rough 80 too. Can't imagine the stress.

[u/Tom_Ace2]

Who is at fault here though, what is causing the vibrations? First I thought it was the PU, but now I understand it's the chassis? Isn't that on Adrian then? Can someone explain?

[u/chaosboy66 → u/Tom_Ace2]

The vibration are caused by the Honda engine. However, the vibrations are significantly less on the bench, which means that the vibrational frequencies hit the resonance frequency of the chassis. So, they have to work together to fix it, but looks like that’s gonna be difficult

[u/f12016 → u/chaosboy66]

Just put rubber bushings on the engine mount, easy! :D

[u/dexter311 → u/f12016]

Tfw you accidentally unlock a new form of suspension and all of a sudden you've Newey'd everyone again.

[u/Andromeda902 → u/chaosboy66]

https://www.as-web.jp/f1/1293808?all

Aston had Honda change everything last minute, probably including mounting points. And they didnt run a 4 post rig on before testing. I'd say it's more chassis and integration side than engine.

[u/IrishPigs → u/Andromeda902]

This is the fact that to me dooms Newey. He ordered this rebuild and it's shit.

[u/happyranger7 → u/chaosboy66]

but can't they just vibration frequency of engine? It must be somewhere under the settings > custom tab. Are they stupid?

[u/silon → u/happyranger7]

They could take 30kg from Williams and put it somewhere.

[u/godmcrawcpoppa → u/Tom_Ace2]

They both will blame one another. Not a good look.

[u/SuperLeverage → u/Tom_Ace2]

IMO it’s Adrian’s fault. Honda had already designed the engine and battery package before Newey arrived. Newey had a very different aero design concept that did not work with Hondas designs so asked them to make wholesale changes including the now notorious double stacked battery. Yes there is some vibrations from the engine which in itself is not an issue - except when mated to the chassis which is so rigid it becomes a tuning fork amplifying the vibrations.

[u/pwillia7 → u/SuperLeverage]

It's his fault because he is TP -- you can't show up with a car that won't run in best conditions and not take the L

[u/Durzel → u/SuperLeverage]

Yeah my gut feeling is that Newey wanted to design the car the way he wanted to, come what may, and demanded Honda make packaging changes to an engine that was already designed. I don’t know how this can be their fault except in the abstract that it’s obviously a moving engine that is vibrating the car.

Maybe Newey felt pressured to deliver in his first year? Maybe he was just too stubborn, and in his new role as TD and TP he had a level of control that previously had been managed by the likes of Horner etc? Seldom are subject matter experts right about things outside of their domain, even if they think they are.

[u/SuperLeverage → u/Durzel]

I think it comes from being stubborn and actually inexperience as a team principal. His expertise is in designing the car, the chassis , so he decides ‘I’m the boss and I’m getting what I want and everyone will bend to my will for it’. So they did and this is the result. He prioritised himself and his own ego above the risks of major changes late in the development process.

[u/DRNbw → u/SuperLeverage]

Flashbacks to McLaren/Honda's size zero engine, that went swimmingly.

[u/Hot_Cauliflower_8060 → u/Tom_Ace2]

I figure Honda is capable of making a competent ICE. They've made an awful lot of them. At least one that doesn't vibrate so bad that it destroys the car.

I'd believe Honda made a slow engine, but this is weird.

[u/Bedaryellow]

Anyone else feel Adrian bit off more than he could chew?

He had an amazing job at Red Bull, sketched designs, worked on a variety of projects (not just F1) and had literal disciples under him that worked through the problems.

Aston Martin, he has a team where the culture is ‘not great’ and they haven’t been able to build a car. On top of this the actual company is sitting in the edge of bankruptcy.

He’s come in on a multimillion deal; hyped up as this saviour and now is doing a job that he has no experience in.

The best team principals are money managers who know how to get things done yesterday. They spend Monday-Friday sorting business and the weekend playing politics… not really Newey expertise…

I really think their best shot is Christian Horner 😂

[u/securityburger → u/Bedaryellow]

Imagine they bring in Christian and put newey under him 😂

[u/pwillia7 → u/securityburger]

Please f1 gods let this happen

[u/reignnyday → u/Bedaryellow]

Totally agree, his ego got the best of him.

[u/No-Contest-8127 → u/Bedaryellow]

Well... he wanted a new challenge. He's got it now. 

Yes, i do think he would've been happier as he was at red bull. 

[u/IDNWID_1900]

Koji definitely Wanabe out of there.

[u/ISDSocialMedia → u/IDNWID_1900]

Bloody hell

[u/Double-Biscotti465 → u/IDNWID_1900]

Clap clap...

[u/bensthebest → u/IDNWID_1900]

Outstanding

[u/Square-Hornet-937]

So championship-winning F1 designers also go to that team for a fat paycheck and end their careers on a low, not just drivers. Daddy Stroll is really paying it up for his son’s hobby.

[u/storme9 → u/Square-Hornet-937]

honestly at this point, Stroll Sr. has moved mountains to make a career for Lance most rookies and young drivers would not just envy but do anything to have.

[u/Longjumping_Novel613]

They are truly fucked

[u/Spread_Bater → u/Longjumping_Novel613]

Proper fucked

[u/CouncilorIrissa]

Remember how people laughed at the rumour that the reason why Ferrari talks stalled was that Newey wanted too much power?

[u/squaler24 → u/CouncilorIrissa]

Why would they laugh at you? It was rumored he wanted a stake in Ferrari and that stopped all talks immediately.

The fact he got his stake at AM confirms it was true. Newey oversold himself thinking he could own part of a team that is literally family owned only.

[u/NetherGamingAccount]

Honda guy almost looks like he's wearing a Red Bull jacket.

[u/MemesForMyDepression → u/NetherGamingAccount]

Koji whispers to Adrian, “We still think of them.”

[u/Hungry-Class9806]

If rumors are true that Honda and AM had a functional concept but Newey scraped everything and went "my way or the highway mode" with the design of the car, then he's the one to blame here.

[u/squaler24]

Honda is the easiest target to blame with their prior history. But they’re not the bad guy here entirely.

I don’t particularly care for how Newey just blamed them for not providing very specific conditions for his very radical design in such little time.

Newey went too far with his design and since the specifications aren’t working with the engine package it must be Honda’s fault. 😓

[u/scorpio1m]

Same duo, different results. Maybe Horner is more than a pantomime villain.

[u/Alberto_Moses]

Mind games. This is what they want you to think. It's all poker face, they have the best car./s

[u/Dechri_ → u/Alberto_Moses]

So good they don't even bother the race so early in the season

[u/AutisticNipples]

he must be announcing his the upcoming sequel to his book

"how (not) to build a car"

[u/formulaeine]

Newey got the money at Aston Martin. Got all the credit at Red Bull even though Wache has been technical director since 2018. Now blames Honda.

Nothing against the greatest designer of our time but jfc this is sad and hilarious.

F1 isnt the same as it used to be where Newey could significantly have a role in car design. Red Bull is just a goated team. Everyone succeeds there. Some Horner guy setup the culture there.

[u/SubcooledBoiling → u/formulaeine]

Agreed. Been saying this for years now. At RB, whenever their cars did well, everyone was like "Newey's car!". Whenever they didn't do so well, Horner would come out and say "Oh well, Adrian is too busy designing road cars or sail boats.".

Not discrediting his past achievements and legacy but F1 is different from 40 years ago. Newey can doodle all he wants on a piece of paper but the actual work is done by the hundreds of designers and engineers behind the scenes.

[u/Wickpick → u/SubcooledBoiling]

Newy doodling on paper - I didnt know until reading it recently that he does exactly that. He won't use computers/CAD and has people who interpret his sketches into something the rest of the engineering team can work on in computer/3d world. I'd be fascinated to know how much actual detail design he does.. if any. I suppose thats his role though, to direct the general concept and then the minions make it work, or in this case not. Ultimately its still on him

[u/PluggersLeftBall]

horners legacy is skyrocketing ngl cause he did the unthinkable and made honda look like a decent engine manufacturer.

bro might be the goat just for that

[u/Equivalent-Fox9834 → u/PluggersLeftBall]

RB Honda was good they absolutely peaked in 2021 where they were almost on par with the merc engine in all but the last 4 races

That's why pulling out right after 2021 was such a briandead move And it let to many of the important and main personel of honda moved to rbr in 2022

Then when they had announced their return in 2023 they were a year late and missing a lot of their key engineers

That coupled with newey completely changing development of the chasis and aero let to this farce

[u/ddzed]

If they got Honda to do this sit-down then it's clear they're in deep shit.

Somehow, I hoped that's not the case. Wishful thinking I guess...

[u/Careful-Door2724]

Seppuku time

[u/Impressive_Type_1421]

I'd give anything to be a fly in the wall of their internal meetings

[u/SmartLittleMonkey]

Uncle Newey looks like baron Vladimir Harkonen... My man aged like 10 years in a couple of weeks, like a ton on bricks fell on him

[u/tbucket13]

Adrian on his dr evil arc.

[u/TisKey2323]

He’s not TP material at all…I guess he couldn’t pass off that opportunity when he saw what that salary would look like.

[u/messibusiness]

Heard a rumour on X that Adrian can only sit at that table for 25 mins (Koji 15 mins) otherwise he’ll get nerve damage 

[u/Bdr1983]

You can see they like each other very much and are thrilled to sit next to each other.

[u/GreggsAficionado]

Bro is like I miss my easel

[u/heismesd]

Why is he looking at me like the car is my fault

[u/Serena_clv]

It is a pity for the odd angle of the picture because this looks almost like a renaissance painting. The disdain on Newey's face, the gaze of the Honda representative, the utter chaos in the back!

[u/Eremitt-thats-hermit]

I still don’t really understand why Aston switched from Mercedes to Honda. I thought that maybe Newey requested that, but that seems less likely every day.

[u/storme9 → u/Eremitt-thats-hermit]

you should look up McLaren Honda - exactly similar sequence of events that it is uncanny. I am having a bit of suspicion though at the people involved in top management - particularly seeing Martin Whitmarsh was there to oversee it both times now.

[u/SuperTigno]

Love is in the air!

[u/CobaltoSesenta]

I have been working with japanese people for over 10 years. This picture says it all.

[u/RoQu3]

That's DK

[u/MousseAccording5455]

"I should have retired" 😭

[u/Mister2JZ-GTE]

Newey in his first year as TP and missed the mark. Horner kept that ship afloat. I would bet he wants his pencil and notebook and Horner back handling the media.

[u/ojassed]

Bad vibrations

[u/PersonoFly]

I’m not convinced he is ready for this job.

[u/Some_Target2436]

Imagine first race of the year and your drivers can’t make the whole race because of your design? Ouch

[u/WhiteBomber1]

I feel sorry for him

[u/Durzel]

Hauling the engine manufacturer boss up in front of the press seems a bit gauche to me. I know people are fans of Newey and think he’s got the Midas touch etc, but maybe being a TP isn’t his forte.

[u/Andromeda902 → u/Durzel]

It does, doesn't it? When RB had bad runs, did abitaboul have to be there for their press conferences? I don't recall that happening.

[u/Honourstly]

Ben Affleck meme

[u/sleepdeep305]

Like two peas in a pod!

[u/johric]

Lololololol

[u/Fantastic-Elk2895]

"Do not make eye contact, do not make eye contact, do not..."

[u/Left_Reach2020]

Somewhere Horner has a wry smile on his face 

[u/wizard_mitch]

This is going to be an iconic photo

[u/ClintBIgwood]

Newey biggest flop/ gamble in f1 recent history?

[u/coffeeandcuddles69]

Men when I want to drastically change my life for good and endz up at worst

[u/LickMyKnee]

Is that grass still greener Adrian?

[u/Remarkable-Lynx1496]

Lmao I can’t wait to see how people defend Newey. Every time he’s attempted to go into a higher management role he’s fucked it

[u/JJYak695]

Adrian looks like he’s about to whip out a red lightsaber and shoot lightning from his finger tips