Newey enthusiastic over rule changes

Red Bull's Adrian Newey says that 2010's rule changes for Formula One have made him enthusiastic about the design possibilities they present.

Newey has been part of a winning team at Williams, McLaren and now Red Bull, but he sees next year's regulations and the challenge as being an extension of his career that began in 1988.

"It is a very different time and a very different challenge," said Newey on the Autosport web site. "I think it goes back to unfinished business with Leyton House. I started my Formula 1 career with Leyton House as a very small F1 team. We tried to develop it, and bring it forward into a team that we hoped would win races. That was cut short with the financial problems that Leyton House got itself in to. I was then lucky enough to join Williams and, following that McLaren, as two great teams, two well established teams.

"Hopefully I was able to bring a little bit but basically the infrastructure was there, the ability was there, and the knowledge was there on how to win championships. In joining Red Bull, it was really a fresh challenge to join a young new team, and be centrally involved along with Christian (Horner) in how to develop that team and try to bring it forwards."

Newey was asked whether he found the diffuser debacle that characterised the start of the 2009 season frustrating.

"I think overall, of course, it is easy to be frustrated. Motor racing is full of ifs and buts - but the reality is that if you said 12 months ago, you are going to win six races and finish second in the world championship, then obviously I would have bitten your hand off. So we cannot be disappointed. It was a fantastic year for the team. The bottom line was simply that we ran out of time in the second half of the year. We had a good car, but we ran out of races. The teams that came up with the double diffusers, they got that jump and good luck to them. That is the nature of F1."

The 51-year-old predicted that 2010 would be a competitive season in which he expected the top teams like McLaren and Ferrari to be resurgent.

"As we all know, motor racing does not tend to follow logical progressions from year to year. It is not that simple. McLaren and Ferrari, for sure, will be bouncing back from below average years from their point of view. Brawn/Mercedes will obviously be tough again and other teams will step in. So, it is never that simple. But I think our team has really developed a confidence and belief in itself now. We continue to develop the infrastructure, and that will hopefully bring us a decent result.

The raft of rule changes for 2010 has the aerodynamicist and designer enthusiastic, but he cautioned on the Red Bull web site: "A major rule change is likely to have the opposite effect (promoting overtaking), just one or two teams get it right and do all the winning."

"I feel enthused by the progress that the team has made, yes. As I have said many times, I love regulation changes. I think they sort of reset the baseline, whereas periods of long stability are really about tiny iterations, so are really a different mindset. I am not saying I don't like it, but size probably counts more than anything else in those situations.

"But we have got some decent regulation changes next year. Primarily it is great to have seen how the team has grown over the last year, and to see the confidence and the smile on everyone's faces. The team has said that although it is a relatively new team in Red Bull, on the other hand, you could say it is actually Jaguar or even Stewart Grand Prix.

"I think for the people, who have been there for a long time, it has really come as a great thrill to them that we can actually move forward. They suffered some tough times under Jaguar, with a lot of changes of management. But we have now had a great period of stability and Dietrich Mateschitz, our owner, has shown tremendous commitment to the team – and that has allowed us to survive.