Upon learning about Adrian Newey’s bucket list of wanting to work with him, Lewis Hamilton also felt excited about the prospect of getting to work with the legendary British aerodynamicist at Ferrari next year. Hamilton had stated that it would be a privilege to work with Newey. However, the current Red Bull Chief Technical Officer has chosen to sign with Aston Martin and not Ferrari.
Still, Hamilton did not regret it and highlighted that he did not have Newey’s brilliance at both of his championship-winning teams. Speaking at the Azerbaijan GP presser on Thursday, Hamilton said,
“To be honest, I’m not disappointed. I’ve mentioned in the past that it would have been an honor to work with Adrian, although I’ve had the privilege of working with two championship-winning teams who didn’t have Adrian.”
Lewis Hamilton: “Habría sido un honor trabajar con Newey… aunque he tenido el privilegio de trabajar con dos equipos campeones que no tenían a Newey”
➡️”No cambia nada para mí, sigo creyendo al 100% que podemos hacer muchas cosas”#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/pboqYcQ4Ej
— SoyMotor.com (@SoyMotor) September 12, 2024
Hamilton joined McLaren in 2007 after Newey had left the Woking team for good. Still, he was successful in winning races and also the championship in 2008, while Newey’s Red Bull were struggling.
A similar story transpired during Hamilton’s time at Mercedes. The British designer could not produce a championship-winning car for Red Bull from 2014 onwards — a time when Hamilton and Mercedes reigned supreme in the turbo-hybrid engine era.
While Newey had the wish of working with the seven-time champion once, it may not come true now with the 65-year-old likely to stay at Aston Martin for the long haul. So, Hamilton is accepting a future at Ferrari without Newey. He stated, “It doesn’t change anything for me in terms of my next move. I still believe 100% that we can do great things.”
Besides Hamilton, Newey also had the wish of working with Fernando Alonso which he will get to fulfill when he joins Aston Martin in March 2025. As for Ferrari, Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are trusting in the team’s existing technical structure to bolster their hopes for success next season.
Leclerc backs Ferrari amid losing Newey
There have been comments from Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur about why they couldn’t secure Newey‘s services. Vasseur stated that the 65-year-old’s vision differed from his ideas for the Maranello outfit.
The Frenchman also stated that one “individual cannot determine the outcome of an entire team”. Leclerc also expressed sentiments similar to that of Vasseur.
While the Monegasque understands Newey’s decision to choose the best possible option for himself, Leclerc has backed Vasseur’s ability to help Ferrari return to its former glory. Per Racer.com, he stated, “I respect his decision. At the end, at Ferrari, we have always considered the group more than the individual.”
Leclerc also said that he is quite happy with the current structure at Ferrari. Under Vasseur’s leadership, they have also improved on several fronts, be it their strategy, pit stops, operational communications, and technical feedback loops. Hence, he feels that Vasseur knows what he is doing and he trusts the Frenchman “200 percent“.
