Speculation Racing Book Club: How to Build a Car by Adrian Newey

How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Formula 1 Designer by Adrian Newey, despite its title, is not an instruction manual, but the chronicles of Newey's career in motorsport told by taking a look at some if the notable race cars he designed. Newey is widely regarded as the most successful designer in possibly, all of Formula 1 history. He's responsible for championship-winning cars at Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull, as well as multiple Indy 500 and IndyCar championship winners.

In short Adrian Newey is a genius, and his finger prints can be seen in the design of just about every modern day Formula 1 car.

This book is his story.

Some warnings; While yes, its not a "technical" book, this is in fact a very technical book. There is an entire chapter dedicated to how active suspension works. However it is explained in a manner that most will be able to follow along.

The book was published in 2017. There are some dated references that have since resolved and this all takes place before the Verstappen RedBull dominance era. Maybe there will be a follow-up.

The book traces Newey's journey from a childhood obsession with cars and engineering. Every thing you would expect from a young Adrian, sketched designs and tinkering in his father's shed on theirs classic cars. There are plenty of fun anecdotes on his education, including his time at university with Jeremy Clarkson. After finishing studies in aeronautics, his early career involved jumping straight into car design and being one of the first full time aerodynamicist in the racing industry and hilighting the importance of the field. It would create a whole new lense that race teams now looked through to further push their performance, when before aerodynamics were a bit of a dead end and a "it is what is" attitude. His first stops were in America where he would design successful cars in IndyCar and claiming multiple Indy-500 wins. Ultimately he wanted to pursue his childhood dreams and work in Formula 1. He began with small boutique teams like March Engineering and Leyton House. The core of the book is built around the specific race cars he engineered, detailing his design philosophy, which is heavily focused on maximizing aerodynamics. You come to learn the Adrian Newey way of finding creative solutions to work within the rules and look at them in ways that no one else seems to notice. The solutions Newey comes up with can be seen in how even todays cars are designed. Much of the rulebook on car design now, is in response to the work arounds he came up with. Even the shape of the chassis on today's cars can be traced back to the ground breaking work Adrian did back at Leyton in 1990.

Adrian Newey, Williams GP 1992

Aside from all of the technical aspects of his career Newey some of the more personal moments in his F1 career, both in triumphs and the crushing failures. Key chapters focus on his time at Williams, where he does not shy away from the sport's deep tragedies and personal toll. Newey speaks candidly about the devastating death of Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994 in a Williams car of his design, sharing his reflections on the accident, his sense of responsibility, and how that event affectes him still. He provides insights into his working relationships with legendary drivers like Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Mika Häkkinen, and Sebastian Vettel.

Ultimately, How to Build a Car is a very interesting look into the genious mind of Adrian Newey. Exploring the creativity, and relentless pursuit of performance that defines his design philosophy, while also offering a genuine personal account of the triumphs and tragedies that accompany a life lived at the cutting edge of racing.