The Geek Will Inherit the Earth 

Adrian Newey is something of a big deal in Formula One design.  

You know the type: he probably has many books that smell of rich mahogany. But even if his library isn’t exotically scented, it won’t be because he is short of change. 

Newey has just scored a rumoured £20 million a year pay deal to move from Red Bull to Aston Martin as their Managing Technical Partner – apparently picking up shares in the team as well. 

For anyone for whom this is news, Newey is an aerodynamicist who has worked with Red Bull for 18 years. F1 plans to enforce the use of lighter cars in 2026, and his skills are excellently aligned to help the Aston Martin team respond. And as we all know, winning on the grid delivers commercial returns off it.  

There are two interesting aspects to this appointment 

1. Newey will now be out-earning a number of the drivers  

2. The business side of sport (aka ‘suits’) are really getting to grips with the value technologists, scientists and mechanics (aka ‘labcoats’) can deliver 

This might well be the start of a quiet revolution in the sports sector. CEOs of sports teams, leagues, governing bodies and federations are part diplomat, politician, negotiator. figurehead, cheerleader, enforcer and accountant. Meanwhile, with technology reshaping venue management, marketing, fan engagement, broadcasting, ecommerce, performance and data analysis – and now, even functions like reputation management – the CTO and CIO roles start to look operationally pivotal. If you think of the role as the folk who sort out your IT, you are very far behind the curve. 

Whether directing sports or business performance, labcoats are innate to the future of sports. Forgive a brief plug but in our podcast, TechChairs, both Sir Ben Ainslie and Sir Chris Boardman have described the seismic influence of tech experts in powering their achievements. They weren’t talking marginal gains – they were talking quantum leaps! 

The news on Newey is – and should be – big. It remains to be seen if this is a wise deal for Aston Martin but, undeniably, commercially shrewd bosses are spotting the significant advantages that technology, and the visionaries who harness it, can deliver. 

So, will the geeks inherit the earth? They’re ahead on that one as well.