Adrian Newey At Jaguar: The Contract That Never Happened

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Words By Dionysis Nanos

Formula 1 was very different 20 years ago than what it is now. Different tires, refueling, teams that no longer exist and partnerships that have since long ceased to exist. One of these partnerships is that of McLaren and Adrian Newey, arguably one of the best, if not the best F1 car designers of all time, if the results his cars brought to their respective teams are anything to go by. His stint at McLaren brought 2 Driver’s Championships with Mika Häkkinen and one Manufacturer’s Championship in 1998, results that might seem modest but this was the time of Michael Schumacher’s and Ferrari’s dominance, where nobody and nothing could stop the prancing horses. So a fruitful relationship, between two F1 greats that ended in 2005 after many years of smooth sailing. Only it wasn’t like that. In fact, June 1st 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Jaguar announcing that Adrian Newey would be joining the team from 2002 onwards. But something like obviously never happened, so what actually did happen?

To start, let’s have a look at the Jaguar F1 team. Born from Stewart, after Ford bought the team in 1999, there were high hopes heading into the new millennium. A new brand, a fresh green look, bank rolling from Ford themselves and a refreshed driver lineup, with 1999 Driver’s Championship runner-up (by one point no less) Eddie Irvine joining for 2000, meant people justifiably had high expectations. Unfortunately that first season in green proved to be disastrous, with the team finishing the year with just 4 points and 12 retirements in 17 races. In comparison, Stewart finished the 1999 season with 36 points, with multiple podiums and even a win. As such, change was needed for the 2001 season. One big change that people remember is that of Niki Lauda being brought in, before being appointed Team Principal, with a certain Guenther Steiner being appointed as managing director. But what people seem to forget is why Niki Lauda was appointed Team Principal in the first place. Enter Adrian Newey…

Jaguar’s first F1 podium was Eddie Irvine’s 3rd place finish at Monaco in 2001

Jaguar’s first F1 podium was Eddie Irvine’s 3rd place finish at Monaco in 2001

Apparently, Newey and Jaguar Team Principal Bobby Rahal, who replaced Wolfgang Reitzle at the end of the 2000 season, came to an agreement that would see Newey join the green team from the summer of 2002, after his contract with McLaren ran out. So with the contract apparently signed, 20 years ago to the day, Jaguar made the official announcement that Adrian Newey would work with them. Bobby Rahal was happy, as was Niki Lauda and Ford in general. Having a designer of the quality and caliber of Adrian Newey at your disposal, pretty much guarantees a car that can win races, and in the proper hands, even championships. It’s no wonder Newey got tempted by Jaguar, as he was, allegedly, being offered more than double what he was making over at McLaren. Speaking of McLaren, they might have decided not to say anything immediately, but ultimately they had the last laugh.

See, Ron Dennis was not going to let Newey go that easily, and as such just hours after Jaguar issued the press release saying that he was joining them, McLaren issued a statement of their own saying that he had in fact changed his mind and had decided to stay! Ultimately the case reached the High Court, where it was decided that Newey would in fact stay with McLaren, since he couldn’t be forced to work in a company he didn’t want to, and that Jaguar would receive monetary compensation. That left Bobby Rahal in rough waters with Ford management, going on to say just days after the whole incident that he was talking to Newey for months before signing the contract and that '‘trust and good faith had been severely damaged in this situation'‘. Years later, Rahal also went on to claim that Niki Lauda’s arrival made things volatile and soon there were constant arguments between the two. Ford used the Newey fiasco against Rahal, relieving him of his duties by season’s end and replacing him with Niki Lauda. Lauda himself though was out of the team by the end of 2002, along with 70 other key people, including Guenther Steiner, after results didn’t improve at all. Jaguar went on to finish the 2001 season with nine points, and would stay in F1 for another 3 years after that, before parent company Ford pulled the plug, allowing Red Bull to come along, and as they say the rest is history.

David Coulthard driving the Jaguar-designed RedBull RB1 in 2005

David Coulthard driving the Jaguar-designed RedBull RB1 in 2005

Even 20 years later, we still don’t know what made Adrian Newey change his decision about joining Jaguar in just a matter of hours. Some speculate that it was all a work by Newey, in order to get in a better negotiating position with McLaren, while others think it was all down to Ron Dennis convincing Newey that Ford were not serious about staying in F1, where as McLaren were in for the long haul. Also, let’s take into account the fact that when Niki Lauda arrived at Jaguar he went ahead with a lot of changes, which created a lot of tension within the team itself. Perhaps Newey saw that with Lauda in charge he wouldn’t have the peace he needed to design the car like he wanted, which in turn prompted him to stay at Woking. We may never know, but it remains a huge what if. Would we have seen Jaguar succeed with a Newey designed car? Would have Ford pulled out of the sport all together? All we know is that his later stint with the former Jaguar/Red Bull yielded some of the most memorable moments in recent F1 history, including but not limited to 4 consecutive Driver’s and Manufacturer’s titles. Could that have perhaps happened earlier??


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