Christian Horner Claims 10 Years Ago Adrian Newey ‘Nearly Left’ for Ferrari

After the mega announcement of Adrian Newey signing with Aston Martin, Christian Horner has opened up about the British designer’s move away from Red Bull. Horner deemed Aston Martin’s big celebratory announcement “premature”, given Newey is still a Red Bull employee. Horner then also reflected on the 20 years he spent with Newey and recalled the time when the aero genius almost left for Ferrari.

Newey’s wish to work for Ferrari has been well-known for a while now. The 65-year-old has himself shed light on the same and also revealed the few instances when the legendary Italian outfit has tried to sign him during different points of his career.

On the Formula for Success podcast, Newey revealed that he almost moved away to Ferrari amid Red Bull’s struggles in the turbo-hybrid era since 2014. In another interview, he mentioned that their power unit back then from Renault was not as competitive, and as a result, he contemplated moving away from Red Bull.

Horner also recalled the same recently. Since Renault was not providing them with a good enough engine, Horner stated that Newey’s motivation to continue at Red Bull took a hit. It was understandable as without a powerful engine, Newey’s talents with the aero side of things weren’t as effective in making the car fight for wins.

Christian Horner says Adrian Newey nearly left in 2014 to Ferrari when they did not have a competitive (Renault) engine.

— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) September 14, 2024

This is when Ferrari had reportedly approached Newey. However, the British designer rejected the offer because he didn’t wish to move to Italy. Apparently, this is one of the reasons why Newey has once again rejected an offer from the Prancing Horse amid his move away from Red Bull.

Why Newey has rejected Ferrari for Aston Martin

There was immense speculation about which team between Aston Martin and Ferrari would Newey choose for his future after Red Bull. While the 65-year-old had spoken about his bucket list wishes of working with Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, speculations were rife about him finally ending up at the Italian team in 2025.

However, he once again did not wish to move away from the UK to join Ferrari in Maranello. On top of that, the Briton also wanted an elevated status at his next team with more influence in leadership decisions, besides his technical duties.

With Ferrari being a family-owned company and with a complex hierarchy, they were not willing to give such influence to Newey. On the other hand, Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll was much more open to these demands from Newey.

He offered Newey a very lucrative monetary deal over five years and also the freedom to sort out the technical structure of the team. The 65-year-old will also be a shareholder at the British team, which gives him good influence in the team’s wider leadership decisions.