Adrian Newey was close to leaving Red Bull for Ferrari in 2014, with Christian Horner revealing how the reigning Formula 1 champions responded to the threat of losing their celebrated designer. The solution involved giving Newey opportunities beyond F1, including work connected to elite sailing and road-car projects.
Ferrari had pursued Newey on more than one occasion. The British designer explained in a 2023 interview that he had come close to joining the Maranello team three times during his Formula 1 career, while his name returned to the Ferrari conversation in 2024 following his decision to leave Red Bull.
Despite repeated interest, the combination of one of Formula 1’s most successful designers and its most famous team never became reality. With Newey now 67 and working for Aston Martin, the possibility appears increasingly likely to remain one of F1’s major what-if stories.
Why Adrian Newey seriously considered Ferrari in 2014
The 2014 season represented a dramatic change for Red Bull. Sebastian Vettel and the team had won four consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships between 2010 and 2013, but Mercedes moved to the front when Formula 1 introduced its turbo-hybrid regulations.
Newey was deeply frustrated by the situation and placed significant responsibility on Renault. He believed the power unit lacked both the performance and reliability required to allow Red Bull to continue competing at the level it had reached during its four-year championship run.
According to Christian Horner, those circumstances left Newey seriously looking at Ferrari as a possible next step in his career.
That threat helped shape Red Bull’s response. The organisation established its Advanced Technologies division in 2014, creating a structure that would allow Newey to explore engineering interests away from Formula 1 alongside his work with the racing team.
How sailing became part of Red Bull’s plan to retain Adrian Newey
Horner explained that Newey had become extremely unhappy after Red Bull’s dominant 2013 campaign was followed by Renault’s struggles at the beginning of the new engine era. With Ferrari attracting his attention, Red Bull looked for ways to broaden his role and restore his enthusiasm.
One of those opportunities involved the America’s Cup. Newey had already shown an interest in the prestigious sailing competition during his McLaren years, so Red Bull reached an agreement with Ben Ainslie Racing to contribute simulation support while also allowing some of Newey’s time to be devoted to the project.
The arrangement also gave him room to work on road-car engineering, including the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Horner indicated that allowing Newey to pursue those different design challenges was important in improving his state of mind while keeping him involved with Red Bull.
Ferrari also faced major problems during the 2014 season
A move to Maranello would not necessarily have offered an immediate route back to championship success. Ferrari endured its first winless Formula 1 season since 1993 in 2014, although its competitive position improved the following year after Sebastian Vettel arrived from Red Bull.
Even with Vettel, Ferrari was unable to produce a package capable of sustaining a season-long challenge to Mercedes during that period. Newey, meanwhile, remained at Red Bull for another decade.
The Milton Keynes team had to wait until 2021 before returning to championship success with Max Verstappen, beginning another sequence of four consecutive drivers’ titles.
Adrian Newey eventually leaves Red Bull for Aston Martin
Adrian Newey finally announced his departure from Red Bull in 2024 after spending almost two decades with the organisation. The former Williams and McLaren designer was among the first major figures to leave during a period that subsequently also saw Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, Jonathan Wheatley and others depart, whether voluntarily or otherwise.
Rather than moving to Italy, Newey chose to remain in the United Kingdom and joined Aston Martin. His move means Ferrari will once again compete against a car influenced by the designer it came close to recruiting on several occasions.
There are also echoes of the difficulties he experienced at Red Bull in 2014. The legendary car designer is again working with a chassis whose potential is being restricted by problems associated with its engine supplier. The difference is that Red Bull was still capable of winning races despite Renault’s shortcomings, whereas the Honda-powered Aston Martin has scored points on only three occasions.
Adrian Newey’s work at Aston Martin also provides another reference point for Ferrari as the Maranello team pursues its own development programme, with the contrasting technical approaches explored further in our analysis of Ferrari’s technical reset for the new regulations.
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