“For me, I think I was very pleased with the number of teams that approached me,” Newey explained. “I had discussions with some of the team but not all of them. In the end, it was a very clear and natural choice for all the reasons I mentioned at the beginning of the conference.”
And after thinking about the reason for a while, Newey cited the need for a ‘new challenge’.
READ MORE: From March to Red Bull – How long did it take Newey to make an impact at his former F1 team?
“At the end of April I decided I needed to do something different,” the 65-year-old admits. “I spent a lot of time discussing next steps with my wife, Mandy. What should we do? Are we going to leave and travel around the world? Do I do something different?
“We had some time. I felt lucky enough to achieve something I had aspired to do since I was 10 or 12 years old. It was simply about being a designer in car racing. I didn’t even know the word engineer.
“To be honest, everything else was a bonus. Because I achieved it right out of college. Of course, I never expected anything like what I was lucky enough to be a part of. But I felt like I needed a new challenge because I needed to be honest with myself and stay fresh.
