The decision of where Adrian Newey will end up is a hot topic in Formula 1 after Red Bull announced in May that this year would be his last under contract at the Milton Keynes squad.
While he is currently still working at Red Bull, he has effectively been placed on ‘gardening leave’ as he finishes other projects including their £5 million RB17 road car.
Newey has recently ruled out joining ‘struggling’ F1 teams due to budget concerns, while he is targeting a decision on his future to be made by the F1 winter break in December.
A potential avenue for the legendary designer could be working at Mercedes, who have struggled to get on top of the current regulation set since it was introduced in 2022.
They have recently experienced an uptake in form thanks to important updates to the W15, but having Newey onboard could improve their chances of getting back to title-winning ways. When asked by Mundo Deportivo if they are considering Newey, team principal Toto Wolff offered a response.
Toto Wolff responds to Adrian Newey question over future
Mercedes is rumoured to be attempting to block rival teams, including Ferrari, from signing Newey by offering him a lucrative contract.
Wolff admitted earlier in the year that he feared “unrest” if the team was to successfully employ Newey to their technical leadership. He has since offered some insight into where their priorities lie as they attempt to close the gap to Red Bull.
“I don’t know where Adrian is going to work next year. I’m not even sure that he knows yet,” said Wolff.
“I think we need to focus on our current structure and push it as hard as we can. We see that we are getting the first benefits with our car, which starts working properly, and that is the most important thing: the current structure.”
Could Adrian Newey go to Mercedes?
Newey is one of F1’s most saught-after engineers due to his previous success, with his time at Red Bull yielding six Constructors’ Championships and seven Drivers’ Championships.
In the last two years Mercedes has only won two races with their cars while Red Bull has established itself as a stronghold, achieving 44 wins between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the RB18, RB19 and RB20.
Mercedes is currently 87 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship, with the latter having amassed 355 points at the halfway mark of the season.
The Silver Arrows have showed signs of improving after identifying a key weakness in their car, which has enabled them to get closer to Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari and pick up the scraps at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Newey will likely be factoring this into any potential move, while he is also said to be in talks with Aston Martin and Ferrari where he would partner Lewis Hamilton.
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