Adrian Newey climbed behind the wheel of his latest creation for Red Bull at the Goodwood Festival of Speed: the unique RB17 hypercar. The British top designer, now active as a technician and interim team principal at Aston Martin, led the project for years. On Thursday, he completed the first demonstration runs with the RB17 himself, an exclusive track car based on F1 technology.
Read more Mattia Binotto warns of pitfall in ADUO scheme: ‘Must be revised’
Two years ago, Christian Horner and Newey first unveiled the RB17 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The hypercar is powered by a 4.5-liter Cosworth V10 delivering more than 1200 hp. It is the first car entirely developed by Red Bull, although the production run is extremely limited: only fifty units will be built. Although Newey has now shifted his focus to Aston Martin and the 2026 F1 regulations, the development of the RB17 continued within Red Bull Advanced Technologies. At Goodwood, fans admire a pre-production model, with Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda also set to complete a few laps.
After his first drive, Newey was visibly enthusiastic. “This is an incredibly special moment,” he said to the Goodwood channels. “It’s a project we have worked on for a very long time. I think I made my very first sketch of the car around Christmas 2020, early 2021, so it has been a project with a long lead time. But everyone, all the men and women in the factory, has done fantastic work to make this possible. It’s really special to have the car here and to drive it up the hill climb for the first time.”
Testing phase
According to Newey, the RB17 is not yet fully developed. The team still needs to calibrate several active systems before the first customers receive their cars. “At the moment, the active suspension is not working yet,” he explained. “The fans only cool; they do not generate downforce yet. Some other active systems are not calibrated yet, so these runs are mainly intended to get the car ready to drive. It only drove for the first time three weeks ago, so it’s really important to get everything in order. That it works immediately and is here is very special.”
Read more McLaren intervenes after difficult start: ‘Need to adjust upgrade plan’, says Andrea Stella
Newey has tried to apply several design ideas from his successful F1 career to the RB17. Because the car is not bound by the same regulatory restrictions as an F1 car, he could use certain concepts that are banned in the top class. While the RB17 makes its public debut at Goodwood, Newey is meanwhile continuing work at Aston Martin on the extensive upgrade package for the AMR26, which must appear before the summer break in Formula 1.
Is Adrian Newey’s #RedBull RB17 the ultimate track day car?
F1’s greatest designer takes it up the hill for a #FOS 2026 scorcher – a carbon-fibre chassis and a 1000PS V10 revving to 15,000rpm, this is some machine!
Have you seen it on display in the Supercar Paddock presented… pic.twitter.com/sCgtX8Tr4F
Read more Red Bull follows Ferrari, uses last filming day with Isack Hadjar at Silverstone
— Goodwood FOS (@fosgoodwood) July 10, 2026
Read everything about the Belgian GP here
