7 Greatest Racing Cars Designed By Famous Designer Adrian Newey

1985 March 85C

During his IndyCar career, Newey went straight for a grand slam with the March 85C. Built using either a turbocharged Buick Indy V-6 engine or a Ford-Cosworth DFX V-8 turbo mill, Newey’s March 85C was driven by the likes of Al Unser, who won the 1985 IndyCar Championship. Driver Danny Sullivan (seen here) also piloted the March 85C during the famous “spin and win” at the 1985 Indy 500. In total, the March 85C finished first in 10 of the 15 races that year.

1992 Williams FW14B

Newey graduated to Formula 1 shortly after his success in IndyCar, although several years of failure led to his dismissal. Reportedly, Newey abandoned his successor design, which was thrown into the trash. Turns out that was a mistake. Newey joined the Williams Formula 1 team and implemented his ideas for the FW14, which was a tour de force.

In 1992, FW14B was Nigel Mansell’s horse when he won the Formula 1 championship, and Williams also won the World Constructors’ Championship. The key is Newey’s active suspension, which helps with better cornering stability and reduced drag on straight roads.

1996 Williams FW18

The chassis has a 75 percent win rate, with Williams topping the podium 12 times out of 16 races this season. Damon Hill piloted a V-10-powered FW18 to the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, and teammate Jacques Villeneuve finished second. Once again, Williams claimed the World Constructors’ Championship. How? Newey revised the cockpit to allow the driver to lean back more, which lowered the car’s center of gravity and helped improve its aerodynamic sharpness.

1998 McLarenMP4/13

Newey left Williams after a dispute with management over share ownership and driver selection and headed to McLaren. His MP4/13, the first chassis he designed for a British team, achieved a win rate of 56 percent. That was enough for McLaren’s Mika Häkkinen to take the title and teammate David Coulthard to finish third.

2010 Red Bull RB6

Moving to the Red Bull team in 2006, Newey went through a difficult first four years. However, in 2010, he debuted with the RB6. Its predecessor, the RB5, was the fastest car at the end of the 2009 season, taking first place in the final three races.

For the 2010 season, Newey stretched the rear of the chassis to accommodate a double diffuser (to increase downforce) while adding a contested but legal front wing. The RB6 won nine of the season’s 18 races, earning Sebastian Vettel the World Drivers’ Championship and the Red Bull World Constructors’ title, ending Newey’s 11-year dry spell.

RB19 2023 Red Bulls

In 2022, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez achieved an astonishing win rate of 77.3 percent with Newey’s RB19, which is his most successful car ever. Until 2023. Newey’s innovation last season was to add two tunnels in the floor of the car to channel air flow to the diffuser.



The massive downforce made the car unflappable, and the RB19 won 21 of 22 grand prix races, with an incredible win rate of 95.45 percent. This figure surpasses the previous car with the most wins, the 1988 McLaren MP4/4, which had a success rate of 93.8 percent.

Aston Martin Valkyrie (AM-RB 001)

It’s not technically a race car, but it essentially is, so we included it. (There will be a track version of the Valkyrie run at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans.) Newey was eager to design the ultimate road car and, while dining with Horner and then Aston CEO Andy Palmer, helped develop plans to create the Valkyrie. This $3 million, 1,139 hp beast had a Cosworth 6.5-liter V-12 engine that was capable of revving at 11,100 rpm. The vehicle also produces 2,425 pounds of downforce from a speed of 137 mph (maximum at 220 mph). For reference, a modern Formula 1 car produces 1,653 pounds of downforce.

Aston Martin Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso bought one, and stated that he was very happy to have the Newey-designed vehicle in his garage. The former Formula 1 world champion famously quipped: “I was hoping for an employee discount. No discounts!”