Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz analysed Adrian Newey’s options amid speculation Aston Martin are leading the race to sign the outgoing Red Bull design chief.
Red Bull confirmed in May that Newey had stopped working in his role as chief technical officer and would remain with the team until early 2025 only to work on their hypercar project.
The 65-year-old has since been linked with moves to Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin, with recent reports suggesting the latter have emerged as favourites.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Ted explained why Aston Martin could be an attractive option for Newey.
He said: “You look at the investment that’s already happened at Aston Martin, you look at their factory. He’s already got Dan Fallows, who he worked with successfully at Red Bull, to be there with him.
“I would imagine he would have definitely talked to Dan Fallows and asked, ‘what is this place that I’m coming to? What’s it like?’
“I asked Dan Fallows about this in Hungary actually, whether he’d be happy with Newey joining him. Fallows said, ‘what you have to understand is that Adrian is a relentless, unstoppable Formula 1 competitor, and I would be amazed if he didn’t join another team, and I would certainly welcome working with Adrian again at Aston Martin’.
“We’ve all had discussions with various people at Aston Martin about what you can offer someone like Newey. You can say, ‘just come in, be a figurehead, sprinkle your magic dust here and there, put our people on the right path, and we think we’ve got the ability to do the rest with Fallows and the team that are already there’.
“It’s a judgement call for Newey, where he wants to feel happy ending up at. And the current leader, if we’re to believe the rumours, is Aston Martin but it could be any of those teams.”
During the episode, Ted also analysed Oliver Oakes’ appointment as Alpine team principal, and Jonathan Wheatley’s exit from Red Bull to become Sauber/Audi team principal.
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso was asked in June about the prospect of Newey joining the Silverstone-based squad, but dismissed the reports as “rumours”.
“I read the rumours and news but it’s coming from the same source and websites,” said Alonso, who signed a new deal earlier this year to stay with Aston Martin until the end of 2026. “One week ago [reports said] he was at Ferrari, so rumours are rumours.”
Asked what he would say to Newey to convince him to join the team, Alonso added: “That’s between me and him.”
After taking a huge step forward in 2023, Aston Martin have failed to build on that momentum, sitting a distant fifth behind the top four of Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes in the constructors’ standings.
However, Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll continues to spare no expense in attempting to establish his team at the front of the grid, with the recent hires of Enrico Cardile from Ferrari and former Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell acting as statements of intent.
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