The race to sign Adrian Newey is on. On Thursday, he dropped a bombshell as it emerged that he intended to leave Red Bull.
It’s unclear at this stage when Newey will be able to depart. If he has to honour his contract, then he won’t walk out the door until the end of 2025.
And then there’s the possibility that he’s forced to serve a lengthy period of gardening leave, as we often see with big-name F1 engineers. It’s not inconceivable that he may have to wait until 2027 before working for another team.
But his suitors will surely be patient. This is one of the great designers in F1 history, the mastermind behind the most dominant car in F1 history last year and the winner of 12 titles during his career.
Aston Martin are one of the teams firmly in the race. Lawrence Stroll is making a determined push to sign the 65-year-old as he tries to build a title-winning team.
Racing driver Richard Bradley has claimed that an ‘enticing’ offer is already on the table for Newey. However, Aston Martin insiders believe he’s more likely to join Ferrari.
Newey has previously rejected three approaches from the Scuderia, but Fred Vasseur has stepped up their pursuit ahead of the arrival of Lewis Hamilton. And they may finally be able to get their man.
Could there be a third player in Adrian Newey race?
According to The Guardian, there could yet be a third big-name team who joins the hunt for Newey. They say that Mercedes are ready to chase the Englishman when they receive confirmation that he’s available.
For Toto Wolff, the main priority is to sign Max Verstappen. He has a vacancy for 2025 thanks to Hamilton’s exit but he might also be willing to wait until 2026 and settle for a stop-gap in the meantime.
Signing Newey may pave the way to signing Verstappen. It’s said to be ‘extremely likely’ that the Dutchman follows his colleague, which is Peter Windsor reckons the designer actually holds the key to the driver market
On that basis, Mercedes could pursue Newey with ‘equal zeal’. But it remains to be seen whether they can overcome the attraction of Ferrari.
Will Adrian Newey go to Mercedes?
Between 2014 and 2021, Mercedes won eight straight constructors’ titles. That era of Formula 1 belonged to the Silver Arrows, but they’ve struggled since the aerodynamic profile of the cars changed in 2022.
While Newey’s Red Bull cars have established a stranglehold on F1, Mercedes have only been able to win one race in that time (through George Russell at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix). This year, they look as far as off as ever.
After the first five rounds of the championship, they’re sitting fourth in the constructors on 52 points. That puts them a whopping 143 behind the Bulls’ benchmark.
While Mercedes will still fight desperately to improve before the end of next season, they will also be looking forward to the 2026 regulatory reset. The combination of Newey’s aerodynamic genius and their highly-rated powertrains division would surely make them favourites.
Wolff said earlier this year that he couldn’t rule out making an approach. However, it’s subsequently been reported that he fears ‘unrest’ at Brackley if Newey does arrive.
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