Adrian Newey has now reportedly handed in his letter of resignation from Red Bull. It first emerged last week that he intended to leave the reigning world champions.
And now a German publication has claimed that Newey has formally resigned. They expect an announcement from Red Bull before the Miami Grand Prix this weekend.
The 65-year-old is under contract with the team until the end of this year, and he won’t officially leave until then. It’s unclear at which point he’d be able to join a rival team, if indeed he chooses to remain in F1 rather than retire.
That timeline will take on an extra importance next year with the sweeping 2026 regulation changes on the horizon. But Newey’s track record suggests he’s worth waiting for regardless.
Indeed, he ranks as one of the greatest designers in F1 history, having won titles with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull in three different decades. Last year’s RB19 shattered records at the hands of Max Verstappen.
As it stands, it’s Ferrari who appear to lead the race for the Englishman as they try to pair him with Lewis Hamilton. It emerged on Tuesday that he’s ‘seriously considering’ a move to the Scuderia.
Aston Martin are doing everything they can to overcome the allure of the Prancing Horse. Team owner Lawrence Stroll is ready to pay Newey more than £400k per week to move to the Silverstone outfit.
The ‘biggest surprise’ around Adrian Newey and Mercedes
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, journalist Christian Menath expressed his shock that Mercedes aren’t at the forefront of the race for Newey. There’s interest from the Silver Arrows but they don’t seem to be pursuing him with the same aggression as Ferrari.
With Toto Wolff trying to lure Max Verstappen to Brackley as his replacement for Hamilton, he has an additional incentive too. Previous reports have suggested that Verstappen is ‘extremely likely’ to follow Newey to his next destination.
He said: “That’s the biggest surprise for me, that there are rumours about Adrian joining Aston Martin, that there are a lot of rumours of Adrian joining Ferrari, but not so many rumours about Adrian joining Mercedes. They would need Adrian more than any other team on the grid.
“They are completely lost at the moment, even if they wouldn’t say so. They would need someone like Adrian, and even more importantly, they’re trying to convince Max Verstappen to join the team.
“And if you want to convince Max Verstappen to join Mercedes, then what else can you do than bring Adrian Newey to Mercedes? So in my opinion, this would be the biggest mistake of Toto Wolff – not trying to bring Adrian Newey to Mercedes.”
Why Mercedes need Adrian Newey
Since Mercedes returned to Formula 1 in 2010, they’ve only once failed to score a podium in the first five races of a new season (in 2011). But this year, they only have one top-five finish to their name at the same stage.
The Silver Arrows were the nearest challengers to Red Bull last year but they’ve now fallen to fourth in the pecking order. They don’t seem to have made any progress in understanding the ground effect cars.
At this point, Mercedes may be counting down the days until the 2026 regulation changes. In 2014, when F1 last made such significant alterations to its power units, they stole a march on their competitors and won eight straight titles.
But history won’t automatically repeat itself. And there’s no guarantee Mercedes will pull a rabbit out of the hat with their 2026 chassis based on the current state of their operation.
Indeed, this year they’ve found themselves investigating the possibility of a ‘fundamental’ design flaw on their car. Whether they’ve taken an aggressive approach as they did in 2022, or adopted a dialled-back concept, they haven’t been able to get close to the front.
Newey’s aforementioned CV certainly suggests he could be the man to right the ship. And part of the benefit of signing him is also keeping him out of the hands of rivals Ferrari, who have already poached their star driver.
As for Verstappen, Wolff is also looking at other key Red Bull figures who could help bring him to Mercedes. One of those is technical director Pierre Wache, arguably an even more important presence than Newey nowadays, and another is Helmut Marko.
The post ‘Completely lost’: Journalist warns Toto Wolff not to make his ‘biggest mistake’ after Adrian Newey update appeared first on F1 Oversteer.