McLaren may lose Newey

[Led ZeppF1]

Newey told BBC Sport: "My contract with McLaren runs to 31 July next year so I will be technical director until then and after that we'll have to see."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/3889067.stm

[ASCII Man]

A return to Williams per chance?






Or building boats?

[Led ZeppF1]

Originally posted by ASCII Man
A return to Williams per chance?

I pray day and night for that.

[Super Tourer]

He has itchy feet as the Rahal/Jaguar debacle proved, although RonD was able to talk him round on that occasion, it didn't alter the fact that Adrian was prepared to leave McLaren.

I think a step back into another arena is more likely, maybe boats who knows?

[JohnMiller]

Will McLaren still want him after the MP4/18 and 19 debacles?

[Hugh Jarce]

Maybe he's fed up with all the hassle behind the scenes - even though last weekend was better - there must be plenty of politics.

[Super Tourer]

I don't think that was all down to Adrian to be fair, I think there has been something of a power struggle in the McLaren tech department for the last couple of years, that Martin Whitmarsh allegedly failed to get on top of early enough.

As soon as the test results came back, Newey was believed to have said draw a line through the car and start again, but he was over ruled by Whitmarsh who plugged ahead with the 19, which was effectively a supposed de-bugged version of the 18.

The 19B is a Newey re- worked car and the 20 will be better still I would expect. I think the debacle was a combination of some technical 'clashes' within McLaren, coupled with some internal failings that allowed them to develop into the actual car, I am sure Ron D has now corrected this position.

[BootsOntheSide]

I feel Adrian has long been considering leaving F1 and building an America's Cup yacht - perhaps someone who's au fait with that sport can give us a clue as to when he would be starting on that, with a view to entering ASAP after next July?

If he does leave, I don't think it'll be down to anything going wrong at McLaren - he just wants a new challenge.

[Schummy]

Seeing how fast is the new Mac, I thought Adrian had at last ended the design of the yatch...

It would be a pity if he abandons McLaren. His look fit perfectly with that look of baddies of StarWars that Mac has. Their black/silver jackets, Ron's face, Haug's breathing, Newey's tortured expression... All of that makes a great cast.

If Dennis retires, I vote for Briatore subs him.

[bacon sandwich]

Originally posted by JohnMiller
Will McLaren still want him after the MP4/18 and 19 debacles?

I agree with you John - ceefax described him as possibly the best ever aerodynamicist in F1 - I am of course not knocking his talents at all - but there is no doubt that the last few McLaren's have not really been up to his usual standard - Ferrari have wiped the floor with them - perhaps he needs some time out. I have a feeling perhaps energy and motivation is at a bit of a low at the moment.

[Bononi]

Originally posted by Led ZeppF1
Newey told BBC Sport: "My contract with McLaren runs to 31 July next year so I will be technical director until then and after that we'll have to see."

That means : "I want more money or I will be out of here !"

[ralf fan]

Nicely put bononi...

[BootsOntheSide]

I don't think Adrian's decision will be motivated by money - if he does leave, I'm sure McLaren will have got the chequebook out to try to persuade him to stay.

My udnerstanding of McLaren's operation is that Newey dominates ont eh areodynamic thinking, but Mike Coughlan (ex Arrows) is involved in much of the chassis work. It might be worth dividing their work further, allowing the aerodynamics to be perfected while ensuring a good base chassis, and giving Mike more experience for the time when Adrian does leave.

[KC]

When you look at Newey's career, you can see that he is usually very successful at getting a team into the good and then their performance usually tapers off.

It is my understanding that Newey is not good at delegating work and instead wants total and absolute control over every aspect of the aerodynamic package. In my experience in manufacturing with people like this, even when they are very good, they often overlook simple problems in pursuit of the overall project.

A project like the aero package on an F1 car can certainly be an overwhelming job. There is only so much computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis can do. A huge portion of it comes down to the black art of just knowing what is going to work and what will not, and that takes hours and hours of trial work in fabricating and testing components. I would imagine that Newy has been putting in beaucoup weeks without stop in the windtunnel and fab shops looking for the best combination. Its all good when it finally comes together and you look back on the long slog to get there, but when it struggles or even fails dismally, that long slog wears people down. I think Newey's style of work eventually wears him down and he needs a little time off and he comes back invigorated and with all creative pistons firing.

[climb]

So he could be the right man at Minardi

[naughtymutt]

i think maclaren lost a bit of trust in Newey after the Jaguar situation. It moved others in to try to cover in case he leaves and they made a pigs ear of it. They move Whitmarsh out to Illmor and Newey back into the aero department and it flies

[Kicking-back]

If Newey goes, it'll be out of F1.

Ron will pay what's necessary to stop Adrian working against the team.

[Gt_R]

Honestly, i believe Mclaren is strong enough to be competitive WITHOUT Adrian.

So instead of paying what's neccessary to stop Adrian working against them, i'd think Ron would be better off using the money to strengthen their own technical department further.

Say, if Adrian really goes to another team..which would it be? Ferrari's full...maybe Williams but unlikely. So the next most possible stops would be at Renault (which lost Mike) or Jaguar. Jaguar isn't an immediate threat, so unless it's off to Renault, Mclaren won't have much to worry.