Adrian Newey Revisits F1 History at Goodwood: Drives Lauda’s Iconic Ferrari Amid Speculation on Future

Adrian Newey took the wheel of a legendary Ferrari F1 car at Goodwood this weekend, amidst ongoing uncertainty about his future in Formula 1.

Adrian Newey took to the track at Goodwood this past weekend, driving the legendary Ferrari 312T Formula 1 car once piloted by Niki Lauda.

Newey was driving the Ferrari that Lauda used to win his championship, and the Red Bull design expert called the experience "truly unique."

Throughout the weekend, attention was centered on Newey as his Red Bull hypercar made its debut.

At the age of 65, he also took the wheel of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, a vehicle developed in partnership between him, Red Bull, and the British automaker.

Considering his time driving Lauda’s iconic Ferrari, Newey thought it was an “appropriate homage”.

"It's actually the third time! It's incredibly special to drive Niki's old car, the one that won the championship," he mentioned.

"I was quite familiar with Niki, so being here, in the same seat, reflecting on what he must have gone through and how he got ready for the starts and all that – it's truly remarkable."

"It's truly incredible. It honors him perfectly."

Formula 1 has significantly evolved since the 1970s, the decade when Lauda drove his Ferrari.

Newey admitted that working as a designer in that era would have been "incredibly interesting" because of the minimal regulations.

“The vehicles are completely unique,” he stated. “I have a passion for these cars. My childhood involved the Lotus 49 from ‘67 and ‘68, which was the initial car that caught my attention. By 1974, when I was 15, I even created a painting of this car for an art assignment.”

"Consider the engineering of that time. It must have been an intriguing period to be involved in, as the regulations were minimal, spanning only a couple of pages, although the budgets were fairly limited."

"More significantly, the lack of search tools meant that decisions were largely based on intuition, and wind tunnels were only just beginning to be used. It must have been an intriguing time."

Newey's future in Formula 1 remains uncertain as he plans to leave Red Bull in early 2025.

There have been strong associations suggesting he might transfer to Aston Martin and McLaren, while the speculation about him joining Ferrari appears to have diminished lately.

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