Adrian Newey met a rival team principal in London this Tuesday after the design guru reached an agreement with Red Bull to break out of his contract with the team early.
The Formula 1 legend has sought to split from Red Bull after almost 20 years at the team. He has grown unsettled in Milton Keynes amid their ongoing fights for power between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko plus Red Bull GmbH and Thai majority owner, Chalerm Yoovidhya.
Red Bull hired Newey to head their design department upon joining F1’s grid back in 2005. It proved to be a brilliant decision, with the 65-year-old designing seven drivers’ championship with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen and six constructors’ championship-winning cars.
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur met Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey
Now, though, Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Newey could be off to Ferrari having reached an agreement with Red Bull to break out of his contract. The 25-time championship-winning icon has a contract through 2025 but Red Bull will let Newey walk early after extensive talks.
Newey’s lawyers spent several hours negotiating the conditions of his release from Red Bull. Now, the team’s chief technical officer is free to discuss signing with a rival outfit as he does not have any agreements yet. And Ferrari are keen to be the team Newey quits Red Bull for.
READ MORE: 5 unforgettable Miami GP moments including Lando Norris’ crash
Ferrari are waiting for Newey having not won a drivers’ championship since Kimi Raikkonen beat Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by one point in 2007. The Scuderia also last won a teams’ title in 2008. But Newey is a genius at finding loopholes in F1’s regulation changes.
So strong, in fact, is Ferrari’s desire to sign Newey that team principal Frederic Vasseur even skipped the Scuderia’s flight to the Miami GP to meet the Red Bull chief in London. The pair convened this Tuesday evening to hammer out the terms Newey would want to join Ferrari.
Ferrari are fighting interest from Aston Martin and Mercedes
Ferrari are unlikely to announce the arrival of Newey until after the Miami GP, if Vasseur was able to convince the Red Bull hero to move to Maranello. But the conditions of Newey’s exit from Red Bull would allow him to start working on a rival team’s 2026 car from next season.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari in 2025
Acquiring Newey, having already tempted Mercedes legend Hamilton to join Ferrari in 2025, will also mark another huge coup for Scuderia president John Elkann. Corriere della Sera has also noted that Mercedes want Newey, who Aston Martin offered €25m-a-year (£410k-a/w).
Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll is intent on convincing Newey to move to Silverstone if he leaves Red Bull. But Corriere della Sera also claims that Ferrari have offered Newey a role outside of their Formula 1 project. It could see him fuel his passion for sailing in Maranello.
The post Report: Adrian Newey met Red Bull rival in London as F1 team boss skips Miami GP flight appeared first on F1 Oversteer.