Sergio Perez described meeting Red Bull design genius Adrian Newey during his first days at the Milton Keynes factory, ahead of his first season with the team.
Perez, who replaces Alex Albon in Max Verstappen’s team, spoke about meeting Newey during a video-ed tour of the team HQ which included a visit to the chief designer’s office and an explanation why the guru shuns computers for an old-school drawing board.
To the drawing board 📐 @SChecoPerez is all of us in Adrian’s office 🤩
Watch the full episode 📺👇
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) February 10, 2021
Afterwards, Perez said, “Very very impressed to get that from Adrian and then to see his big drawing machine there. I was very impressed. You know all the time you cross through his office, he’s drawing something. He understands what you’re talking about. Like a driver. You know it’s like talking to a racing driver.”
Although Newey’s fame is for the multitude of F1 title-winning cars he has designed over the years, he is also a classic car aficionado and is known to take Lotus 49B for outings when the opportunities permit.
As for Perez finally getting a break with a big team, after coming close to not finding a drive on the grid for the season ahead, he said, “I love so much the brand. I have so much admiration for what they do.
The amount of support that they do to sports. You know things in life. You end up in places that you dreamed of. So… Thank you, I’m so happy to be here.
“I still I have to pinch myself a couple of times because it’s a… It’s just a dream to be part of the brand
and to be part of this amazing team.
“When I put the Red Bull branding on myself, it’s like just like wow, you know, I just look forward to having
a very successful start. But more than that, a very successful season. I think these opportunities only come once in your life, so… I know that and I’m ready to make it work.”