Back to back titles ’really not easy’ - Newey

Back to back championships is a rare and difficult feat in formula one, car designer Adrian Newey said in Singapore.

It is possible that, late on Sunday, the Red Bull he inked for 2011 will be driven to Sebastian Vettel’s second consecutive world championship.

It will be a feat not enjoyed by a ’Newey driver’ since 1999 when he worked closely with Mika Hakkinen at McLaren.

"Well, to win any championship, all the elements need to be in place and working together perfectly — a good driver, good car, good engine, reliability, teamwork," the Briton said in an interview with Turun Sanomat newspaper.

"When you try to do it year on year, it really is not easy," added Newey.

The 52-year-old’s cars have also won titles for the British team Williams, but Newey said success with Red Bull has been the sweetest of all.

"When I came to Williams and McLaren they were both top teams and had won championships already. I could assist in their design departments but the winning infrastructure was already in place.

"With Red Bull it was a very, very young team who had always been like seventh as Jaguar. Now as Red Bull it has grown into a winner and so it has given me the most joy of all," explained Newey.

As for his relationships with drivers, however, the Briton admitted he has the fondest memories of working with Mika Hakkinen.

"My relationship with Vettel and Webber is very good, but I am not actually working on their cars as an engineer and so Mika was closer to me," he said.