Christian Danner: The Lone Voice Who Rejected F1 Legend Adrian Newey

"I stand alone in declaring my reluctance to collaborate with Adrian Newey."

"He exhibited a notable lack of focus. On one occasion, he neglected to disconnect the radio."

In recent times, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have openly expressed their respect and admiration for Adrian Newey.

Red Bull's departing CTO is set to become Aston Martin's managing technical partner and a shareholder next year, a development that has already caused a stir in the Formula 1 world.

Newey is considered the ultimate Formula 1 car designer, whose involvement can greatly enhance the performance of the team he works with.

However, there was one racecar driver who failed to recognize Newey's promise.

Christian Danner, the former Formula One driver, considers himself unique in motorsport for having declined assistance from Newey.

In 1982, at the onset of his career, Newey faced rejection from Danner.

"Danner revealed to Formula Scout, 'I stand alone in the motorsport universe as the only individual who has expressed a disinterest in collaborating with Adrian Newey, a rather dubious honor.'"

"Adrian and I continue to find humor in the situation."

A man named Manfred Cassani approached me with an offer, mentioning, "I own a BMW M1 Procar and a Formula 2 team. Christian, how about joining me, and I'll turn you into a Formula 1 driver?"

"I participated in five to six events driving the M1, took part in a practice session for an F2 race at the Nurburgring, and competed in a hillclimb event in the F2 vehicle."

In 1981, Danner received an invitation to join the March-BMW factory team.

He went on to say, "I've always been confident, but I was aware that I lacked experience in driving single-seaters. Therefore, they arranged for me to go to Goodwood for a trial, where I proved to be fast."

"The issue I encountered stemmed from the fact that my colleagues were the champion and the second-place finisher in the European Formula 3 championship, Corrado Fabi and Thierry Boutsen. They showed me that piloting a single-seater car is far from straightforward."

"I managed to master it during the 1981 season."

Newey served at March, where he took on the role of Danner's racing engineer for a solitary event at Silverstone. Unfortunately, Danner was forced to retire from the race due to a fuel depletion issue.

Danner found out later that his tank had a leak. However, he was reluctant to involve his novice race engineer, Newey.

Therefore, Danner insisted on substituting Newey with Ralph Bellamy.

"I wasn't keen on collaborating with Newey and I made it clear to him: 'Adrian, neither of us has any experience, this partnership isn't going to work out,'” he described.

He lacked focus significantly. On one occasion, he neglected to disconnect the radio, and he was clueless about his fuel usage.

"He was merely a budding designer, you know?"

"Thus, Ralph took charge of driving my car, while Adrian teamed up with Johnny Cecotto. In the end, it was Cecotto, me, and Corrado Fabi in the mix, with Fabi ultimately securing the championship title."

Over a span of seven seasons, Danner intermittently appeared on the Formula 1 circuit. Additionally, he competed in IndyCar and participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, among various other racing series.

Newey? He emerged as the most esteemed Formula 1 car designer in history, who, this year, was arguably the most sought-after figure in the sport.

Explore Further

Sign up for our Formula 1 Newsletter

Stay updated with the newest F1 updates, exclusive content, one-on-one interviews, and special offers straight from the track to your email.

For further details, please refer to our Privacy Policy

Recent Updates

Further Updates

Navigation

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

Reproducing the content, whether it be text, photos, or illustrations, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited.