Ferrari: what Adrian Newey is looking for in his new professional path in Formula 1

According to the British media, there is no doubt: legendary car designer Adrian Newey has already signed with Scuderia Ferrari. The agreement was drafted by Irish lawyer Dermot O’Rourke a few days ahead of the Miami Grand Prix in the presence of top management of the Maranello team and Eddie Jordan, his manager. The contract will bind the aerodynamics genius to the Prancing Horse until 2027, with a total economic base of 105 million dollars. Those eagerly awaiting an official announcement will have to wait a bit longer, as the English designer has resigned from Red Bull and there are some contractual procedures that need to be respected.

Adrian Newey resigned from Red Bull on Tuesday, April 30, and is currently on “gardening leave,” which, according to English law, can last a maximum of eight months. As days go by, many details are emerging about the contract that bound the manager from Stratford-upon-Avon with the Milton Keynes team. As with most collaboration agreements with high-caliber professionals, there were clauses for contract termination that Adrian Newey directly stipulated with Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz before his death.

The resignation request was therefore handled directly by the Red Bull Sport headquarters in Austria, managed by Dietrich Mateschitz’s son. It was a significant leverage for the Austrian faction of the world champion team to corner Christian Horner amidst the investigation regarding the conduct of the English manager. Adrian Newey signed a non-denigration agreement with Christian Horner in exchange for not facing any obstruction regarding his new plans.

The Red Bull chief executive officer and team principal, cornered, had no choice but to accept the “gentlemen’s agreement,” although, to be honest, it seems to lack much of the gentlemanly spirit. The Austrian faction’s revenge against Christian Horner’s grandiosity could turn out to be a dramatic boomerang. While it is true that a team capable of turning his inspirations into winning solutions was built around the Englishman’s mind, the resignations were a heavy blow for those who had worked closely with him for years.

But why leave the Austrian team at the height of success? Adrian Newey did not appreciate Christian Horner‘s change after the death of Dietrich Mateschitz. A man who started exhibiting megalomaniacal behaviors that destroyed the family spirit that previously existed in the team, a metamorphosis that began long before the allegations of harassment against Christian Horner made by Adrian Newey’s former personal assistant, a friend with whom he had an excellent professional relationship. It was a huge disappointment to see how she was treated, and that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

Adrian Newey’s behavior, in this case, gives an idea of the man Ferrari “seems” to have hired. First and foremost, a person, even before being a professional, who does not compromise on morals, especially when it concerns his close collaborators. A genius who, like all creatives, does not like being constrained within an oppressive corporate regulatory framework but sees the workplace as a place to find harmony, esteem, and a familial atmosphere.

That’s why he fled from Ron Dennis’s McLaren. Whatever the future role of the brilliant designer within the Scuderia Ferrari organizational chart, everyone will have to accept his way of understanding work. This is because Adrian Newey will never be the “model manager” who follows daily work with a stakhanovite approach. To make a football analogy, Maradona trained little during the week, but the group understood his uniqueness, which he demonstrated consistently on Sundays.

Geniuses of drawing, football, or any other field are different, and as such, they carve out the desired space within the organization themselves. Adrian Newey must necessarily put on a brave face, denying any agreement, as he intends to take a break before facing his new future with Scuderia Ferrari in the role of a super consultant in Maranello. We just have to wait to confirm this news that could change the history of the Prancing Horse in the years to come.