53. Adrian Newey OBE

Newey managed to win a place at the Unviersity of Southampton where he met Ian Reed of March Engineering who offered him a draftsman’s job. Following his studies he spent some time in America, designing, amongst a great many other successes, the car that won the Indianapolis 500 in 1986 and 1987. Newey returned to the UK where he was soon snapped up by Williams F1 following a brief period spent masterminding March’s return to Formula 1. Though most of his time is spent crashing exotic racing cars like a classic GT40 at Le Mans or a Ginetta G50, Newey has a true affinity with motor racing, which has allowed him to lead the Formula 1 field for over thirty years.