Adrian Newey’s share cost estimated as Aston Martin reaches £1bn valuation

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Adrian Newey is set to become one of the highest-paid people in British sports with his deal to join Aston Martin from the 2025 season.

After billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll signed Adrian Newey to the team for a reported salary of £30m-a-year including bonuses, he is now on a higher salary than Manchester City football manager Pep Guardiola.

The big wage package is a testament to the belief from Aston Martin that Newey is the final piece of the puzzle, having put together a roster of impressive backroom talent and extended the contract of two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso.

With F1’s new regulation package coming into force in 2026, Newey is expected to exploit the key performance areas to their advantage.

As well as making him a managing technical partner, Stroll also offered him the position of a shareholder within the team. While the exact number of shares Newey owns has not been disclosed, journalist Michael Schmidt has offered an estimation when discussing his salary on the Formel Schmidt podcast.

Adrian Newey could earn ‘a lot of money’ from his 5% of shares

Offering Newey a shareholder position within Aston Martin is seen as lucrative deal that neither Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes could offer Newey, given their respective ownerships.

Aston Martin has recently secured funding from two US-based investment groups which have valued the company over £1bn, meaning Newey could see a massive return on his shares according to Schmidt.

“He’s [Newey] got shares but you still need to find out how many there are. Even if he only gets 5% I think with the way teams are valued today, Aston Martin is definitely worth over a billion,” said Schmidt.

“That’s a lot of money and I would imagine he [Newey] would have £50m in his pocket if he were to sell his share again. So that’s a monetary advantage.”

Aston Martin may be using shareholder ‘loophole’ to circumvent cost cap

Every F1 team is subject to the £106m cost cap until the end of 2025, when it could be reviewed if teams decide they want to increase it with the approval of the FIA.

Wages of the top three earners and drivers are exempt from this figure, meaning Newey’s salary will not count in the overall expenditure for Aston Martin.

READ MORE: Adrian Newey’s success at Aston Martin will depend on key partnership

But if Stroll decides to hire more A-list engineers, it could pose a problem for the team to stay within the agreed limits.

This is where Aston Martin is potentially using the shareholder offering as a workaround, which means they can present financial packages needed to attract top talent without risking a cost cap penalty.