“Crikey,” Newey smiles. “I think I have lived most of them. Maybe the
America’s Cup, who knows?”
Those two words should send a ripple of excitement through the world of
Formula One, and certainly the world of sailing.
Newey has declared an interest in the America’s Cup before, of course. All
that wind and carbon-fibre naturally appeals. But it does seem now as if he
really could be preparing to make the leap.
Not as soon as next year. Newey is already committed to Formula One’s radical
new engine regulations, with the incorporation of V6 turbos and associated
hybrid technologies posing the sort of repackaging conundrum at which his
brand of genius excels. But perhaps shortly thereafter.
Newey admits he was “gripped” by Oracle Team USA’s dramatic comeback from 8-1
down to beat Team New Zealand 9-8 last month; by the sheer spectacle of
72-foot wingsail catamarans careering around San Francisco Bay at 50mph. He
even admits he has had offers, although he will not disclose from whom.
Could Sir Ben Ainslie, who helped to inspire Oracle’s comeback and is
searching for backing and talent to launch his own British team, have been
on the phone? “It’s a bit too late [for the next Cup] isn’t it?” Newey
answers, neatly dodging the question. “My immediate future lies in Formula
One. I’m fully committed to next year and the new regs.”
What about a future Red Bull-funded entry then? The energy drinks giant
sponsored the recent Youth America’s Cup and it would be one way for
billionaire owner Dietrich Mateschitz to keep Newey’s brains on his books.
“Maybe. It’s not something I have spent a lot of time talking to Dietrich
about I’m afraid,” he smiles.
What Newey will say is that he believes he has something to offer in the
America’s Cup arena, even if he has no idea how effective he might be. “I’m
very aware of the fact that I’m currently doing what I aspired to do,
probably since the age of eight or 10, and have made my profession ever
since I graduated,” he says. “In yachting there are my opposite numbers who
have been doing the same thing in their world. To think you could suddenly
come in and overturn that wealth of experience would be very arrogant.
“The America’s Cup, or yachting I should say, is in many respects even more
difficult than motorsport, certainly than circuit racing where there is a
fairly defined operating window.
“In yachting you have the wind shear effect from the top of the boat to the
sea level, shifty breezes, tides, all that stuff. It’s much less well
defined. The circuit conditions are effectively never the same twice.
“But what might be possible might be to come in on a slightly more
‘consultant’ basis, to contribute by applying my Formula One experience to
that role.”
There is no shortage of crossover between the two sports, down to the safety
element that means competitors risk their lives to compete. Newey admits he
could not help but think of Ayrton Senna’s death in 1994, in a Williams he
helped to design, when British Olympic champion Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson died
in an America’s Cup training accident in May.
“To an extent, yes,” he says. “It’s the same thing, pushing lightweight
structures to their limits. There is going to be a learning curve with that.
There are so many parallels. I went down to Valencia a couple of times when
it [the America’s Cup] was based there and it’s basically a whole parallel
universe to motor racing and to Formula One in particular.
“Lightweight composite structures, control systems, simulations, aerodynamics
v hydrodynamics, the combination of man and machine. It’s all the same. But
operated in a completely different way. I like to think those visits helped
me to become a better engineer.”
For now, Newey’s thoughts are focused on Formula One, and specifically on the
blank sheet of paper offered up by next year’s regulations. But it may not
be too long before those famous 4B pencils are sketching wingsails rather
than rear wings. Vettel, and Red Bull, have been warned.