During the British GP weekend, former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson claimed that Adrian Newey was looking for houses in Oxfordshire, UK, which added fuel to rumors surrounding a possible Williams switch. Veteran journalist Joe Saward, on the other hand, doesn’t completely believe Clarkson.
Newey’s departure from Red Bull became official earlier this year and since then, several teams on the grid have been linked to him. Ferrari and Aston Martin were reported to be frontrunners, but Williams entered the foray a few weeks ago as well.
If Adrian Newey goes to Williams or Aston Martin, F1 will truly be back with a 5-way fight pic.twitter.com/oH62yVb9PB
— Ahmed baokbah ✈️ (@ahmed_baokbah) July 9, 2024
Discussing what Clarkson said in Silverstone, Saward writes on his blog, “This has led to lots of speculation about Adrian at Williams, although Clarkson is a fan of Alpine and so he may just have been stirring the pot.”
Ferrari has been one of the favorites to land Newey in 2025 which is why Clarkson’s revelation surprised many. But his alleged attempt at trying to link Newey with Alpine could be far-fetched.
Alpine is based out of Enstone, also in the UK but it isn’t in a great place at the moment. Plus, there are reports of it going up for sale. Williams too, signed 26 top engineers from other teams on the paddock which makes Newey’s appointment difficult and unrealistic.
As such, Aston Martin and Ferrari remain the logical options for the 65-year-old. And former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde wants Newey to choose the latter.
Van der Garde wants Newey to join Ferrari
Ferrari, a Championship-starved iconic outfit, would be more than happy to have Newey on board. Van der Garde too, thinks that the Briton could lead the Maranello-based outfit to glory for the first time since 2008.
He said (as quoted by GP Blog), “You know you can win races and maybe a Championship there. At Williams, it is taking far too long.”
Under James Vowles’ leadership, Williams is making strides and preparing for big moves on the market. However, Ferrari is closer to the top than the Grove-based team is. Which is why it will be a better fit for Newey on the short term.
