As it stands, Ferrari look like the favourites to capture Adrian Newey. Newey will be free to join a new team in early 2025 after handing in his Red Bull resignation.
Even before this week’s announcement, the Scuderia had been pursuing him. They wanted him to work alongside their incoming superstar Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari are trying to end a title drought that stretches back to 2008. And they may view the combination of Newey and Hamilton, F1’s most successful driver, as the key to doing just that.
After Newey formally decided to quit, the Italian marquee appear to have stepped up their efforts. Team principal Fred Vasseur reportedly met with the 65-year-old in London this week.
Ferrari have proposed a ‘super consultant’ role for the Englishman that seemingly ticks the boxes. He’s now ‘seriously considering’ a move.
But it’s far from a certainty. Newey has already turned them down three times during his career amid concerns over the ruthless culture at Maranello.
What’s more, friend and manager Eddie Jordan has suggested he may be ‘more likely’ to take a break than jump into a new team straightaway. He’s already reached the traditional UK retirement age.
Where Jenson Button thinks Adrian Newey will go
Speaking on Sky Sports F1 at the Miami Grand Prix, former F1 driver Jenson Button cast doubt on the possibility of Newey joining Ferrari. Button retired from F1 in 2016 but competed against the designer’s Red Bull cars at both McLaren and Brawn.
He reckons that Newey will be keen to remain in the UK at this late stage of his career. And that could put eight-time world champions Mercedes in a position to win the race.
“I think he’s going to stay UK-based,” Button said. ” It’s a big deal to move to Italy isn’t it? So, maybe Mercedes…”
One journalist recently warned Toto Wolff that it would be the ‘biggest mistake’ of his tenure not to pursue Newey. Mercedes have made their poorest start to a season since 2011 and have once again produced a flawed car concept this year.
Their woes continued in sprint qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix on Friday. Both drivers failed to reach SQ3, with George Russell 11th and Hamilton 12th.
Why Adrian Newey has concerns about Mercedes
Wolff has previously refused to rule out a move for Newey, though he hasn’t said anything in Miami to suggest he’s actively pursuing the engineering legend. Neither side appears to have too much appetite for a move.
Newey is apparently worried that it will take too long to right the ship at Brackley. And he isn’t overly keen on the idea of working with Wolff either.
For his part, the Mercedes team principal fears that the signing could cause unrest behind the scenes. Indeed, some Red Bull figures are ‘quite pleased’ to see Newey go because they don’t like his working methods.
If Newey does decide to continue with a British-based F1 team, where else could he go? Well, the standout destination would be Aston Martin, whose owner Lawrence Stroll has already offered a giant paycheque.
A return to McLaren is also a possibility, while Williams boss James Vowles says he’s held preliminary talks over bringing him back to Grove (via Motorsport Week). Newey won a combined six constructors’ titles with the two teams back in the 1990s.
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