For many decades, Adrian Newey has been the benchmark in Formula 1 when it comes to designing fast and successful cars. We know that the Aston Martin engineer also gets food for thought from the competition. The Brit has now revealed exactly how this works and what he particularly examines during his “espionage”.
Every Formula 1 fan knows and loves the picture: Before every race, Adrian Newey strolls through the starting grid with his portfolio and a critical eye to take a close look at the competitors’ cars. It is part of his very personal espionage, which has long since achieved cult status.
Directly copying the opponents is just one tool that Newey has at his disposal. Photo espionage has long been established in Formula 1. Newey described exactly how this works in the podcast by the renowned journalist James Allen.
Newey: Every Formula 1 team has spy photographers
“I think that all teams have spy photographers. Basically, the other teams also know who these photographers are,” Newey said. Each team tries to shield important parts or even their entire car from the photographers. But that only works to a limited extent.
“In the end we get God knows how many thousands of pictures from the race weekend. Then you try to use whatever software to categorize them. And yet you get this huge amount of photos that you could easily spend the whole week looking through,” Newey explained what happens to these pictures in the individual factories.
Newey looks at opponents for two reasons
He also uses these photos himself. But they can’t replace his movement in the starting lineup. The Brit revealed that he looks at the opposing cars for two reasons.
“Primarily because the photos are in 2D and often don’t show the angle you’re interested in,” says Newey. Secondly, he simply saves time by walking through the starting grid. He can see things in 3D that would take “eternities” for him in 2D. “I would have to look at maybe 2,000 photos to find that,” said the design guru.