Lawrence Stroll had been reportedly pursuing Adrian Newey’s services even before his Red Bull exit materialized. There were multiple reports of the Aston Martin owner offering a staggering contract of over $100 million for about four years.
Italian publication Autosprint has now reported that Newey may have accepted such an offer, with Aston set to announce his signing at the start of September.
F1 journalist Lawrence Barretto recently highlighted that Stroll may not write a “blank check” to onboard Newey at the Silverstone outfit. While there is no report of the amount the Canadian may be eventually offering the 65-year-old, it is no secret that Stroll will not let Newey slip away to a rival team easily.
Autosprint (Italy’s biggest motorsport publication) cover: “The genius has chosen. Adrian Newey goes to Aston. Announcement in September.”
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Autosprint also stated that Stroll may have accepted the majority of the Briton’s demands, given that has been his way of signing high-value personnel for Aston Martin — be it a driver like Fernando Alonso or a technical director like Dan Fallows.
Now, Newey has certainly been the top dog in the F1 food chain for a long time with 25 championships to his name. Ever since his Red Bull exit became official, there have been reports of the Briton going to several teams including Aston Martin.
For months, speculations suggested that Newey could most likely head to Ferrari — a team he has dreamt of working with for several years. Although, in the past month or so, these rumors have cooled off as the 65-year-old is reportedly looking to stay in the UK, instead of moving to Italy.
As a result, Aston Martin, Williams, and even McLaren have become increasingly likely destinations for Newey. However, that will put his dream of working with Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton unfulfilled.
Newey may have to settle for his third bucket list wish
Last year, Newey stated on the Formula for Success podcast that he had three regrets in his glorious F1 career — not getting to work with Hamilton, Ferrari, and Fernando Alonso. Now, many were expecting the supposed dream combination of Newey, Hamilton, and Ferrari to come to reality for 2025 and beyond.
However, as time has passed, it has seemed more and more unlikely that the 65-year-old would head to Maranello. On top of that, these reports of Aston being very close to securing Newey’s signature are going to further dampen Ferrari’s hopes of having the aero genius.
While Newey may not get to work with Hamilton and Ferrari, he would certainly be more than happy to finally design cars for Alonso. The Briton has been a fan of the Spaniard for several years and also feels that he has evolved a lot from his early days.
If the Aston Martin deal truly materializes, Newey could provide a boost to Alonso’s hopes of winning his elusive third world championship. Besides, he will also reunite with his former Red Bull right-hand man — Dan Fallows.
