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# Video: Three strikes that led to Newey leaving Williams
- URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/video-three-strikes-that-led-to-newey-leaving-williams/
- Published: 2020-09-20T09:55:37.000Z
- Updated: 2023-09-16T18:06:59.000Z
- Description: Losing design genius Adrian Newey to McLaren proved to be one of the biggest blows to Williams in its F1 decline. But why did he go? In essence it came down to three driver decisions over four years and how they were handled
- Author: Matt Beer
- Tags: Formula 1, #video, #image-bottom-center

Of all the missteps that led to Williams’s decline from Formula 1 dominance over the past two decades, arguably the biggest was the loss of technical genius Adrian Newey to McLaren in 1996.

But why did Newey really leave?

Contrary to what many believed at the time, the biggest factor came down to the handling of driver decisions – and three incidents across four years that convinced Newey there wasn’t a place for him in Frank Williams and Patrick Head’s team.

We explain the full story in our new video: