Newey aiming to stay put

07/02/2012

Adrian Newey says he has no plans beyond Red Bull, admitting that leaving the Austrian outfit would be like walking out on his children.

Having enjoyed enormous success with both Williams and McLaren, eyebrows were raised when Newey popped up at Red Bull in 2006, even though (then) Jaguar boss, Bobby Rahal, had made a clever move for the design guru a few year earlier. While it may have taken a couple of years for the Englishman to make his mark, his very hiring should have signalled the fact that Dietrich Mateschitz meant business.

With back-to-back drivers' and constructors' titles under his belt, to say nothing of the success with his two former teams, one might expect the Englishman to rest on his laurels or seek a fresh challenge. Indeed, there has long been speculation that Ferrari would break the bank in order to secure his services.

However, as his latest creation took to the Jerez track for its debut, Newey is adamant that he is more than happy to see out his career with the Austrian team.

"So long as I am enjoying it and people want me to work here, I'll carry on doing so," he told reporters. "I can't see myself going anywhere else.

"I've been involved in the team from very early on," he continued, "I feel very centrally involved in it and proud we've managed to get from the ashes of Jaguar to where we are today. That in itself brings a huge amount of satisfaction and the slightly paternal feeling of wanting that to carry on. To now leave for another team would kind of feel a little like walking out on your children in a way."

The mark of a legendary designer is that he will push the envelope to the very limit, sometimes further, and over the years Newey has been at the heart of a number of controversial concepts. With reactive suspension banned before the season has even begun, the Englishman was asked if he expects any further controversies in the weeks ahead. "There's always a chance that somebody will come up with something that's right on the border," he replied.