Fernando Alonso believes the arrival of legendary designer Adrian Newey means Aston Martin are "the team of the future" in Formula One. (More Motorsport News)
On Tuesday, Aston Martin confirmed Newey had signed on as managing technical director and also become a team shareholder, with his annual salary reported to bꦐe 30 million pounds.
Newey's departure from Red Bull was confirmed in May after his relationship with team principal Christian Horner came under strain, thou𒁏gh he will stay with the constructors' champions through the first quarter of 2025 to work on their RB17 car.
Newey has designed 14 championship-winning cars throughout stints wꦰith Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, and Alonso believes his arrival bodes 🍨well for Aston Martin's future.
"We've been racing against each other for many years," Alonso said as Newey was unveiled at Aston Martin's 🧜head🃏quarters on Tuesday.
"I would say he has been more an inspiration and I think thanks to Adrian▨ and his talent and cars, we all got better as drivers, as engineers, as teams, you know, we all had to raise the bar thanks to him to be able to compete.
"Today is an incredible day for the team. Lawrence Stroll's vision is taking𒐪 shape with this building, with Adria🍸n, Honda, with Aramco, a new wind tunnel...
"It's definitely the team of the future I would say. For me, it's going to be an incredible professional opportunity to work with Adrian and to keep working w⭕ith this green colour which I'm very proud to be part of."
Newey is also excited by the prospect of♕ working with Alonso,🦂 revealing the two-time world champion came close to joining him at Red Bull 15 years ago.
"Fernando of🐲 course... We've battled against each other for so many years," Newey said. "He's been a bi💝t of an archenemy at times.
🅠"We came so close to him joining Red Bull for the 2009 seas💧on but unfortunately it didn't quite happen, which is a great shame.
"So we continue♑d to battle against each other. He's a legend of the spoꦬrt, so I'm very much looking forward to working with him."
