Adrian Newey is a Formula 1 genius and no one has any doubts about it. His cars have (almost) always represented the absolute reference on the grid, the best possible interpretation of the regulations in force and also the pure exaltation of genius and imagination at the service of performance on the track. When he announced that he was leaving Red Bull Racing, all the Constructors dreamed of being able to include Newey in their team, also because in F1 the new technical regulations will soon arrive and having Newey in the team in a time of great changes could represent the key to experiencing a long period of domination.
The race to get Newey involved all the most prestigious teams, and many thought that in the end Ferrari was the destination for Adrian. The manager, however, made a different decision, and he did it because what Lawrence Stroll promised simply could not be promised by others. The tycoon did not ‘just’ cover Newey in gold, with a multi-year contract that according to those in the know will earn him around 30 million dollars a year.
It was not only the financial offer that played an important role, because there is another aspect that has no precedent, that convinced Newey and it is the possibility of becoming a partner of the Aston Martin Team. A scenario that would have been impossible to achieve in any other team, but that Stroll was able to guarantee to the coach. Why? Simply because unlike all the other teams where there are many heads in command, but no one can make decisions in complete autonomy, Stroll is the father master of the team and can dispose of it in the way he deems most appropriate to win.
A fact that represents a historic moment for all of Motorsport, because for the first time an engineer joins a team also taking on an active role in the company and what’s more with a dream engagement. Until a few years ago it was unthinkable to arrive at scenarios of this type, for the simple fact that historically only phenomena behind the wheel could dream of figures and status of this type. Ayrton Senna in 1993 managed to wrest a contract from Ron Dennis that saw him earn a million dollars per Grand Prix from McLaren, to be renewed race after race. But Ayrton was Ayrton and with his incredible talent, in that 1993 branded Williams and Prost, he managed to win 5 Grand Prix aboard a car much more backward than that of his rival Alain. Without that contract we would not have been able to witness the legendary Donington Grand Prix of that season, a true piece of cinema.
A few years later, Michael Schumacher became the man to bet on and Ferrari took him for 1996 with a pharaonic salary, at the time valued at around 40 billion (yes, the lira was still in use!) per year. And this was not Ferrari’s only move, because after the Kaiser, they also welcomed Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn into the team, architects of the Benettons that had given the German two titles in 1994 and 1995. But Byrne and Brawn’s salary was not even remotely comparable to that of Schumacher.
Fast forward, we have gone through various regulatory revolutions in F1, different engines, the advent of the hybrid, the advent of Pirelli and the return of ground effect cars. On each occasion Newey has left his mark with his cars, from Hakkinen’s McLarens to Vettel’s and then Verstappen’s Red Bulls. All phenomenal drivers, capable of winning title after title. But the one who put them in a position to succeed has always been the engineer, who over the years has become a sort of man of providence.
What does this scenario in Formula 1 have in common with what has happened in MotoGP in recent seasons? Much more than you might imagine, because if in that paddock Newey is unanimously recognized as a sort of messiah of engineering, a similar certificate of esteem has only been received in MotoGP by Gigi Dall’Igna, the man who revived Ducati. He did it with his ideas, with his determination and also by forming a school of engineers who supported him, because we must always remember that Dall’Igna is the head of the project, but he is supported by many engineers who develop the solutions that then end up on the Desmosedici in MotoGP and on the Panigale in SBK.
Even in MotoGP, however, the wind is changing, perhaps more slowly than in F1, but in any case going in a similar direction. KTM had focused on Fabiano Sterlacchini, while Yamaha has taken Max Bartolini on board since this season. Both are historic Dall’Igna men, both chosen to revive projects by focusing on the engineer rather than exclusively on the rider. In Aprilia, Romano Albesiano has put a very advanced prototype on the track and it was also with the arrival of Massimo Rivola, ex Formula 1, that other engineers arrived in Noale directly from the Circus leading to increasingly daring evolutions from an aerodynamic point of view.
Forgive the panegyric, but it was needed to make it clear how in all of Motorsport the figure of the driver is still important, but perhaps not as fundamental as in the past. The vehicles are increasingly advanced, we see it both in F1 and MotoGP, and often the phenomenon at the wheel or in the saddle, is no longer able to make the difference as in the past. For this reason the figure of the engineer acquires value, demonstrating how today it is technology and genius that determine victories and defeats, more than the pure talent of the driver.
There is a giant in MotoGP that perhaps has not yet fully understood this scenario and we are talking about Honda. The Japanese company is the only one that has a technical organization almost exclusively composed of Japanese engineers. It does so because for Honda, sport is preparatory to the development of the series product, in fact many young engineers who pass through HRC then end up becoming designers in the field of series motorcycles and scooters. This philosophy has led some of them to even become President of the Japanese giant. However, this mentality is weighing like a millstone on the competitiveness of Honda, which undoubtedly needs ‘its’ Dall’Igna.
Motorsport is constantly evolving, but the feeling is also that in the future drivers risk losing importance in favor of engineers, figures that have always been fundamental but who are now starting to be central to any project. We are not saying that this is a bad thing, but it certainly represents a huge change that seems increasingly inevitable.
