The Formula 1 teams interested in signing legendary car designer Adrian Newey might have to wait several more months for his final decision, as the former Red Bull engineer insists he won’t make a hasty choice about his F1 future. Adrian Newey wants to take a proper break to avoid joining a new team feeling “stale.”
Despite almost three months passing since Adrian Newey and Red Bull announced his departure in the first quarter of 2025, the 25-time championship winner remains undecided about his next move. Currently, Adrian Newey has shifted his focus from F1 design duties to developing Red Bull’s first hypercar, the RB17, while making occasional appearances in Grand Prix weekends, including the recent British Grand Prix.
At the Silverstone circuit, Adrian Newey was seen sketching details of rivals’ upgrades on the grid, leading Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz to speculate that this could be a strong indication Adrian Newey plans to join another team rather than retire. Although interest in the British car designer has been expressed by nearly every team on the grid, from Ferrari to Williams, he maintains that he won’t be rushed into making a decision.
“It wasn’t a big surprise when other teams showed an interest after I announced I was leaving, but I won’t make a quick decision about my future,” he explained in a recent intreview for The Times- “I need a break to work out if I want to have another go in F1. I also didn’t want to risk going stale. There are some drivers, like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who I would have loved to work with, but so far it has not been the right place or time in terms of us coming together. I got on extremely well with Nigel Mansell at Williams, even though he had a Marmite character, and Max Verstappen, who was a tremendous pleasure to work with at Red Bull. I don’t know what my future holds, but instead of dashing around the world to grand prix races this summer, I’ll be able to see my family. In June Mandy and I took our two Bernard doodles, Yogi and Benji, on a drive along the south coast for a week, which was great fun.” – he pointed out.
Adrian Newey’s recent statements about his future come a few days after a report from Motorsport Italy informed that he has rejected Scuderia Ferrari’s latest offer to join the Maranello team, instead preferring to join a UK-based team if he does indeed decide to continue in Formula 1.
While Adrian Newey’s discussions with Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur moved past the initial stages to a detailed proposal, the Motorsport Italy states that Ferrari is not interested in entering a salary bidding war. Additionally, Ferrari seeks someone who is hands-on, while Newey had expressed interest in a consultant role. With the Italian side’s priorities shifting since their initial talks with the British car designer, they are now looking for a more active role than what Adrian Newey envisioned. Consequently, negotiations with Ferrari fell through, while discussions with Aston Martin and McLaren gained momentum.
Reports indicate that Newey recently visited Aston Martin’s new Silverstone headquarters privately. However, the Italian publication hints at a potential twist, suggesting Newey might return to McLaren.
As the British engineer remains unhurried in making his decision, the F1 rumor mill continues to churn with speculation in the following weeks.
