One can imagine it like this. For nineteen years, Adrian Newey has been working at Red Bull’s headquarters in Milton Keynes. The team’s recent troubled events have led him to make a painful yet radical decision, that is, to leave the team with which he has achieved the most success, the adventure that has crowned him as the technical ‘genius’ of Formula 1.
Exiting from the main entrance of Red Bull’s headquarters, Adrian Newey has two options: to turn left and travel the 23 miles that separate him from Aston Martin’s headquarters, or to head towards Luton Airport and board a flight to Bologna, where he will be greeted by a sign with a Prancing Horse on a yellow background.
At sixty-five, Adrian Newey could easily say goodbye to everyone and dive into a well-deserved and golden retirement. He has given a lot to the world of motorsport and received everything an engineer could wish for in return. However, for those fortunate enough to turn their passion into a career, unplugging is not easy, especially when there is no sign of decline in their professional career. Adrian Newey wants to keep going, and before him lie two paths, both leading to the same goal but with different scenarios.
The offer he received from Aston Martin, which we talked about at the end of last month, would allow him not to have to move from England, where he has always been based, except for an early stint in the United States at the beginning of his career. The Silverstone team is in the midst of a major revival led by Lawrence Stroll, and Adrian Newey’s arrival in the technical staff would complete an exceptional step forward.
However, there is also the Ferrari temptation. And there are new developments regarding Adrian Newey’s possible move to Ferrari. The British designer, originally from Stratford-Upon-Avon and a part of the Red Bull team since 2006, seems to have grown weary of the atmosphere within the Milton Keynes-based squad. The power struggle between team principal Christian Horner and the Austrian side of the company has only added to his fatigue. For this reason, even though his contract expires in 2025, his departure could come as soon as the end of this competitive Formula 1 season.
Although the British engineer has often been seen as the key figure in designing the latest cars at Milton Keynes, especially for the RB20 project, he had already been sidelined, with the importance of Pierre Wache, and also Enrico Balbo, which has been steadily increasing over the months. It is also for this reason that Christian Horner, in recent months, has done everything to retain the nearly 50-year-old French engineer and the 44-year-old Italian engineer, who were frequently linked to Ferrari but both renewed due to a strong desire for technical continuity. It is no coincidence that Christian Horner, in the turmoil that hit him in recent weeks, has considered Adrian Newey as no longer so essential for the future of Red Bull, instead giving full powers to Pierre Wache.
We have already reported in recent weeks how Red Bull has granted Pierre Waché significantly more power concerning the cars that will hit the track starting in the 2026 Formula 1 season, when the new technical regulations on power units will radically change the aerodynamic concepts of the cars. These changes, currently receiving negative feedback in various simulations, were also reportedly not welcomed by the former Williams and McLaren man.
Returning to the main topic, Newey Adrian and the Scuderia Ferrari have been in discussions for quite some time, which has seemingly been an open secret and we have also talked about it several times. It’s clear that the latest developments have also stirred up the environments near Silverstone and Brackley, the operational bases of Aston Martin and Mercedes, which have never hidden their interest in the British designer.
Newey and Ferrari: The Guarantee Named Lewis Hamilton
In the first part of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, we have mentioned how Adrian Newey and the Maranello team were involved in negotiations, with the team led by Frederic Vasseur and the willingness of President John Elkann to capitalize on the turmoil within rivals Red Bull. The arrival of Ferrari’s president at the Jeddah circuit in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend was anything but coincidental. The parties then reportedly met again around the Suzuka weekend, and the sighting of the British designer in Italy, near Maranello, a few days ago might seem anything but coincidental.
Aston Martin tried to convince him to join them by offering a lot of money and wanted to secure not only Adrian Newey, but also Max Verstappen. However, the multi-year renewal of Fernando Alonso seems to have cooled this trail, while Mercedes, another obvious candidate to sign the 65-year-old designer, currently does not seem to provide the right guarantees in terms of technology and as far as the lineup of drivers is concerned. Financially, the most enticing offer is probably that from Aston Martin, as there is talk of a proposal of 100 million for 4 seasons, but at this point in his career, for Adrian Newey, it’s not so much about salary. If he chooses the Silverstone team, he will reunite with Honda, with whom he has collaborated in the current Red Bull cycle, and Fernando Alonso, a driver he has always esteemed.
From this perspective, the Maranello team holds the ultimate guarantee, namely Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time British Formula 1 world champion, set to arrive at at the Italian side from January 1, 2025. There is a long-standing mutual esteem between the two, something that is not new. They have never ceased to seek each other out, and perhaps, after a very long period, they might really find themselves together at the most important team in the history of the top category of motorsport.
Newey at Ferrari: Working to Expedite the End of His Relationship with Red Bull
The chances of seeing Adrian Newey at Ferrari have also increased because in the last few days, the well-known German journalistic outlet AMuS reported some details that had never emerged before: the Englishman has a current contract with Red Bull expiring at the end of the 2025 Formula 1 championship, but efforts are being made to advance its conclusion within the next few months, so as to have all the necessary time to go into gardening leave and therefore be ready for the project of the new cars.
The issues at Red Bull have been tiresome for the 65-year-old Englishman, a fact that became apparent when Christian Horner questioned everyone’s roles in order to protect (rightfully) the interests of the Austrian team, including those of Max Verstappen and the British car designer, the real stars of the team’s successes in the last three years, and possibly four considering a likely success in 2024.
On the other hand, the increased responsibilities of Pierre Waché for the near future have added to the British designer’s contemplations, thoughts that were probably matured long ago, and the almost simultaneous arrival of Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari may have triggered, perhaps really this time, that spark that, according to Adrian Newey himself, had never fully ignited in the previous two situations when he discussed with Ferrari a possible move to Maranello. On two other occasions, it never went beyond a preliminary interview, but as it happened with Lewis Hamilton, this time there is certainty that it is the last call. Ending his career in ‘red’ has its undeniable charm, and even for a move to Maranello, the timing is right. The team is deeply committed to a revival aimed at reclaiming the Formula 1 world championship title that has eluded them for 16 years. Sealing the deal would be the final jewel.
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