Adrian Newey commented for the first time on the rumors linking him to Ferrari following the announcement of his departure from Red Bull, but did not confirm anything on the matter.
On Wednesday, Newey’s expected departure from Red Bull Racing became public. The technical director is expected to leave the team by the first quarter of 2025, after 19 seasons with the team in Formula 1.
Ferrari has been trying to sign Newey for a long time, the last time was in 2014. Aston Martin also made a million-dollar offer for the Briton, who has already won 217 victories and 25 combined drivers’ and constructors’ titles.
RacingNews365 exclusively revealed that Williams could also be interested in Newey.
However, Ferrari remains the favorite. For the first time, Newey has commented on the possibility of joining the Scuderia, after Lewis Hamilton said it would be a privilege to work with Newey at the same team in 2025.
“Honestly, it’s very kind of Lewis to say that, I’m very flattered,” Newey told Sky Sports F1. “But for now, I’m just going to take a little vacation and see what happens next. Formula 1 is a very consuming sport, I’ve been in it for a long time and 2021 was a very difficult year, with the fight for the title against Mercedes, and at the same time, all the development of the RB18, which is the father of this generation of cars. There comes a point, I guess, where I feel like Forrest Gump said, ‘I’m just a little tired.'”
The recent uncertainty over Newey’s future reportedly arose from his dissatisfaction with the ongoing political row at Red Bull, based on the investigation into team boss Christian Horner.
Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior by an employee, and although an internal investigation ruled out the accusation in March, the situation created tension within the team. Red Bull minority partner Oliver Mintzlaff and team consultant Helmut Marko were reportedly in favor of Horner’s dismissal.
But Newey himself said: “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, to be honest, I think a little longer during the break between seasons and after the events of this year. I’m in a very privileged position where I don’t need to work for a living. I work because I enjoy it, and it’s a good time to take a step back and take a vacation, reflect on life and travel.”
“Mandy, my wife, and the dogs will probably go RVing around France or something and just enjoy life. So maybe at some point, I’ll be taking a shower and I’ll say, ‘Okay, this is going to be the next adventure.’ At the moment, there is no plan”, concluded Newey.
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