Adrian Newey renege left Rahal high and dry

The close friendship of Bobby Rahal, above left, and Adrian Newey, right, was founded on the bond that occurs when conversations between a driver and his race engineer reach a warm fluency. The relationship would gain an even deeper significance for Newey in 1985 when the March 85C, his first race car created from scratch, was designed with Rahal in mind.

Their personal timelines would make another unplanned convergence in 2001 when Newey reached a frosty contractual impasse with McLaren and Rahal found himself at Jaguar Racing in search of a designer. The terms offered and the opportunity for a clean start were enough to prompt Newey to sign a letter of intent.

While Newey may have been happy with his prospects, the same could not be said for Ron Dennis when Adrian handed in his notice. Ron, who looked upon his McLaren employees as family, took it personally and moved heaven and earth – and anything Newey wanted – to induce a change of heart. Dennis, along with his wife Lisa (called in to assist with the charm offensive), could be very persuasive, so much so that Newey backtracked despite the damage to both his integrity and the relationship with Rahal. (The friendship between the two would be strong enough to allow for an eventual reconciliation.)

Part of Ron’s pitch had covered the risks associated with a flaky management structure at Jaguar. Dennis was proved correct when Rahal packed his bags a few months later, the Newey fiasco doubtless contributing to his departure. It was to be win-win for all sides – except Jaguar.