Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Global Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey has been named the 2024 World Car Person of the Year.
Newey is known for being a genius when it comes to designing Formula 1 (F1) racecars, which has significantly helped Red Bull Racing clinch multiple championship titles. A known aerodynamicist, Newey is the mind and the driving force behind Red Bull’s RB19 F1 car, which can be regarded as the most dominant car from the said racing team.
In 2023, the RB19 won 21 of the 22 F1 races enabling Red Bull’s sixth and Max Verstappen’s third World Championships and establishing the design concept to be pursued by most of its competitors.
Newey studied aeronautics at Southampton University and joined the Red Bull F1 team in 2006. Four years later, Newey’s design on the RB6 F1 car gave Red Bull its first constructors’ title with Sebastian Vettel at the wheel–securing the drivers’ championship as well. Over the following three seasons, the Newey/Vettel combination would race to three more championship doubles.
The jury of the World Car Awards noted that Newey is at the absolute peak of his career which spans 35 years in F1, and more than 200 victories for cars he designed. Of note, the World Car Awards has a jury panel representing over 100 journalists from 29 countries.
Red Bull’s Newey is among the top five finalists for the 2024 World Car Person of the Year. Here’s the list of the four other individuals who delivered remarkable contributions to the car industry last year:
- Stephan Durach, Senior Vice President Connected Company Development, BMW Group
- Andreas Preuninger, Director GT model line, Porsche AG
- C.V. Raman, Chief Technology Officer, Maruti-Suzuki
- Lisa Reeves, Head of Interior Design, Volvo Cars
For the upcoming F1 season, Red Bull is among the favorites to have a solid run–with possibly having a good chance to defend both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships. Defending champion Max Verstappen will race alongside Mexican Sergio Perez for the Red Bull F1 team.
Previously, Hyundai executives managed to clinch the World Car Person of the Year title. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice President for Design and Chief Creative Officer Luc Donckerwolke was named 2022 World Car Person of the Year.
Then, the Korean car brand marked back-to-back wins as Head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center SangYup Lee was named 2023 World Car Person of the Year.
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