Red Bull gifts Newey an RB5 as a thank you

Red Bull Racing has given Adrian Newey a fully operational 2009 RB5 and a set of spares as a thank you for his contribution to the team.

Newey had already been given the chance to drive the car at Goodwood this weekend before he knew that he would be taking the car home with him.

In a statement team boss Christian Horner said: “I was delighted to hand over this RB5 on behalf of Red Bull to Adrian today.  It’s a really significant car for us, as it’s the first model type that won six races for Red Bull Racing  last year. Adrian’s made a mess of his lawn with several different cars from his collection, but this  one will definitely tear the grass up!

“Hopefully he will look after it carefully and enjoy driving it up  the hill at Goodwood today. We’re happy to hand it over with the relevant crash helmet and  overalls to make sure he’s safe; we’ve also given him a set of spares, just in case!”

“I’m overcome actually,” said Newey. “The guys have obviously put a tremendous amount of effort into preparing the car for me. You can see it – the paint and the lines are absolutely perfect, the work that’s gone into doing the helmet and everything else is incredible. Also, the fact that the  guys have given up a weekend to come down here and run it for me is fantastic.

“I was nervous before my first run, as I’d never driven a car with a hand clutch before and had  never left-foot braked expect in a go-kart – but it’s really fantastic to drive. A slight fright was that I  wasn’t prepared for how long first gear is, so as I was pulling out of the paddock it was pushing me on a lot. I was saying to myself ‘hand clutch, hand clutch’, but the automatic reaction is to go  for the left foot! We went up the hill on wet tyres, so it was a gentle drive. It’s just so great to be in  the car and it’s such a great noise from the inside.

“The plan now is to club together with some other guys I know who are lucky enough to have cars  and hire a circuit, preferably a modern one with a bit of run-off where I can enjoy driving the car without worrying about having a spin in front of a crowd!”