Adrian Newey admits he regrets not working with ‘tremendous’ driver at Red Bull

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Red Bull Racing chief technical officer Adrian Newey has admitted he would have loved to have worked with Fernando Alonso during his time in Formula 1.

Newey was speaking to BBC Sport ahead of the final race of the season.

There’s an argument to be made that Adrian Newey is the most successful person in the history of Formula 1.

Wherever he has ended up, his teams have ended up being very successful.

He has overseen 13 Drivers’ Championships and 12 Constructors’ Championships during his career which started in the 1980s.

Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen have all benefitted from his genius.

Red Bull have been particularly unstoppable this season and Verstappen has broken plenty of records already.

However, Newey has admitted that he would have loved to have worked alongside Fernando Alonso at one point in his career.

The pair never crossed over at McLaren and although Alonso has been touted as a potential replacement for Sergio Perez next season, it’s not going to happen.

Alonso is 42 now and it’s unclear just how much longer he’ll be in the sport.

The fact that F1’s greatest designer and one of its best drivers of the modern generation have never worked together is a real shame.

Newey regrets not working with Alonso at Red Bull

Asked if there’s someone he would have loved to have worked with in Formula 1, Newey said: “In terms of drivers, Fernando [Alonso] is one I have always…”

“That’s a regret that that never happened because I have a tremendous respect for Fernando.

“The truth is, first of all, I try to live in the present and the future and not the past.

“Regrets? No. I just feel tremendously lucky to have had the opportunities I’ve had and to have worked with the people I have done and met the people I have done.”

The report suggests that there were discussions 10 years ago between Newey and Alonso about a potential move to Red Bull.

It never transpired and instead remaining at Ferrari for one more year before joining McLaren.

Alonso has always been one of the fastest drivers on the grid but hasn’t always had the best car.

At Aston Martin right now he’s doing well to compete for podiums at times, but if he was alongside Verstappen he’d likely still be battling for championships.