Adrian Newey's wife confirms legendary F1 car designer suffered "skull fractures" in cycling accident

Red Bull chief technical officer and legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey was earlier reported to have been involved in a cycling accident. It was reported the incident happened while he was on vacation during the summer break.

In an Instagram post from yesterday, Newey’s wife Amanda confirmed that her husband suffered life-threatening injuries from the accident.

Wishing her social media-shy husband on the occasion of his birthday, Mrs. Newey wrote:

“(In) August, I came close to losing the love of my life after his cycling accident. Multiple skull fractures - to then sitting on a virtual pit wall of the Dutch Grand within ten days of his craniotomy displays his strength and drive. His recovery has been nothing short of miraculous. So, this birthday feels extra special. Happy Birthday, Adrian.”

In September, Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko spoke about the troubles the team was experiencing due to Newey’s absence. During an interview with Sky Germany, Marko said:

“We are well-positioned (in the championship fight), but of course, Newey is the figurehead. And his absence just from motivation is seen, and in the early stages, we didn’t know how serious the injury is.

Marko added:

“The accident was devastating. Adrian had got several bones broken and head injuries. He had to go through several operations.”

Adrian Newey is often regarded as one of the greatest designers in F1 history. Over the last three decades, Newey has been instrumental in the success of several F1 teams such as Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull.

Alain Prost, Damon Hill, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have all driven cars designed by Newey. Most of them (all except Hill and Ricciardo) have won at least one championship.

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F1 hands out F1TV passes instead of refunds for the canceled 2021 Belgian Grand Prix

More than 70,000 fans attended the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, only to witness three laps behind the safety car before the race was canceled (or rather curtailed) due to heavy rain. However, the FIA decided to hold a podium ceremony anyway and awarded half points to drivers in the top 10.

Meanwhile, immediately after the race, many drivers including Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had called for the fans to be refunded. Many fans also expressed their disappointment at the way the race was handled by F1 and demanded a refund.

However, F1 seems to be sending free F1TV passes (along with other “goodies”) to race attendees instead of issuing them refunds.

F1TV is F1’s only streaming service. It offers a “richer” F1 viewing experience that is generally aimed at hardcore F1 fans. It includes live streams of F1 race weekends, live telemetry, and track map, along with additional commentary and driver onboards.

However, as pointed out by outraged fans on social media, the full-fat version of F1TV is limited to certain regions due to F1’s broadcasting licensing agreements.

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