Helmut Marko’s curveball tip for Adrian Newey’s next team?

Helmut Marko has dropped a shock tip that Adrian Newey could still go to Aston Martin.

Chief technical officer Newey will exit Red Bull early next year, when every front-running F1 team will scramble to secure his services.

Aston Martin, widely reported to be out of the running, could still be his next destination according to another Red Bull veteran.

Marko said to Motorsport-Total: “What colour do I see Newey in the future?

“I think the red clashes a bit with the dark blue.

“But I think anything is possible with a great colour like green.”

Marko’s hint was an apparent suggestion that Aston Martin are not off the table for Newey.

However, he then told OE24: "I was obviously misunderstood. I would rather guess red."

Car design genius Newey has previously suggested that never working with Fernando Alonso is a regret.

Joining Aston Martin to oversee their 2026 car under the new regulations would offer him a chance to aid Alonso towards a third F1 championship.

"I always wanted to work with him once in my life," Alonso said last weekend in Miami.

"I respect him a lot. I consider him the best probably F1 ever had, a legend of the sport.

"I feel, in a way, privileged to drive alongside him in the paddock, obviously as a competitor.

“But I feel lucky to be part of his journey and he was part of my journey as well because he always competed against his cars."

However, it had been reported by F1 insider Peter Windsor that Newey has already turned down a job at Aston Martin.

“My understanding is that he’s already been offered a lot of money by Aramco, and Aston,” Windsor said.

“And he has turned it down. That is my understanding of what the Aston situation is.

“It doesn’t surprise me. He doesn’t need the money. Money isn’t a motivation for him.”