Newey: rule changes made Red Bull F1's fastest car
MADRID - Like a driver waiting to make a pass, Adrian Newey saw his opening when Formula One announced its first major revamp of design regulations in 16 years.
Newey has a track record of building winning F1 cars and took advantage of the changes last year to make Red Bull the fastest car on the circuit this season. After six races, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are atop the drivers standings and the Austrian team is leading the constructors' championship.
``It was fairly stable set of regulations (before that), there was nothing new coming out really, it was just very small (changes) based on existing, well-known principles,'' said Newey, the team's chief technical officer. ``You have a new set of regulations then you have the opportunity to do something different.''
Newey's influence propelled Red Bull into the thick of the championship race in 2009 when it emerged as the only competitor to eventual champion Brawn. Reliability issues cost Red Bull in the end.
``I enjoy trying to be creative, to come up with new ideas and new solutions,'' said the soft-spoken Englishman, who was spurned by several teams before getting his first chance with Fittipaldi Automotive in 1979.
``In particular, I think when you have regulation changes I find that quite stimulating because that's normally when there's an opportunity to come up with new ideas and new solutions.''
Brawn's double-diffuser - a part on the rear of the car that improves airflow - proved to be last season's key piece of technology, helping the team win five of the first six races en route to the championship.
F1, which put an emphasis on aerodynamics with the changes, banned the part for 2010 but will revive it next year.
Newey said bringing it back is an example of F1 tinkering with regulations.
``I think the double-diffuser takes some of the design freedom away,'' he said.
Newey became interested in cars through his father, a veterinarian who was an amateur engineer. Newey, who has also designed winning cars in IndyCar, CART and F2, says design breakthroughs are rare.
``It can be all-consuming. I try to absorb the problems during the day and then the brain ticks away in the background in the evening and sometimes I wake up in the morning and the solution is there,'' Newey said. ``Sometimes.''
Newey is particularly enjoying the fruits of his work this season as Red Bull appears to have overcome its reliability problems and could provide F1 with another championship first.
``Ferrari, McLaren, in particular Mercedes, are very well-resourced teams and they can properly research and manufacture at a high rate,'' Newey said. ``The challenge is to continue to stay ahead.''
