Adrian Newey not lifting F1 focus beyond 50pc

Even rules for significantly faster F1 cars in 2017 will not change Adrian Newey's 50 per cent focus on the sport. That is the news of Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, even though he confirms that the famous F1 designer's work on America's Cup yacht design is now finished. "We've completed the work that we were contracted to do, so our involvement in the Americas Cup is now finished," he said. "We've delivered a product that will hopefully assist them."

Newey, 57, stepped back from the front line in F1 a couple of years ago amid frustration about the regulations, with the 'power units' now dominating performance and aerodynamic innovation severely restricted. But he still works for Red Bull, where he will now begin a "dream" job helping new sponsor Aston Martin design a faster-than-F1 'hypercar'. "He's got more than enough on his plate for the next two years with this road car, and beyond that, let's see," Horner continued.

He explained that, although the F1 regulations will change substantially in 2017, Newey will not increase his workload beyond 50 per cent. "Adrian will be splitting his time as last year, 50-50," said Horner. "Before too long he'll be starting to look at 2017, now that those regulations look pretty fixed." (GMM)