Political posturing in pursuit of Adrian Newey pinpointed
"If they don’t get him, they don’t want to look like they’ve lost him"
Adrian Newey will have at least four options to join another F1 team but the political nature of the chase to recruit him has been laid bare.
The exit of Red Bull’s chief technical officer has got half of the paddock on high-alert at this weekend’s F1 Miami Grand Prix.
The car design genius has been coy about his future despite strong links to Ferrari, where he would find Lewis Hamilton in 2025.
Martin Brundle told Sky Sports about Newey’s options: “I’m sure they are all trying to talk to him. If they’re not, they’re not doing their job properly.
“To use Adrian’s experience, you need a lot of budget and a lot of resource to make use of him.
“There’s no point having him there with the ideas, if you can’t put them on the race track.
“I’m sure Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin and Mercedes are pushing hard and exploring opportunities.
“Those teams will say they’re not, because they don’t want to upset the team they’ve already got.
“And if they don’t get him, they don’t want to look like they’ve lost him.
“I know two of those teams are pushing hard and making him offers.”
It is understood that Newey will formally depart Red Bull in early-2025 and could immediately join a new team, giving him time to oversee the first 2026 cars (when the new F1 regulations kick in).
Does Adrian Newey want to live in Italy?
Ferrari have failed with multiple swoops for Newey in the past, on the basis that he has not wanted to uproot and go to Italy.
Aston Martin, Mercedes or McLaren could offer him the chance to remain UK-based.
But Newey supposedly met with Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur in London, the night before his exit from Red Bull was confirmed.
Jenson Button said about Newey moving to Ferrari: “If he doesn’t have to live in Italy, possibly.
“At this point in his life and career, it’s a big move to move to Italy and Maranello. So I’d be surprised.
“He’s never going to be the chief designer of a car again. It’s more that he’ll jump in to say: ‘It shouldn’t be like this…’”
But Brundle insists that location will not play a major part in Newey’s next decision.
“Rory Byrne still works at Ferrari,” Brundle said. “He’s 80 and he lives in Thailand!
“A lot of work that Adrian has done for Red Bull has been from his place in Cape Town. In today’s digital world…”
Brundle added: “Can you imagine him in a motorhome with his dogs and Amanda? He’ll be redesigning the motorhome!”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
