Adrian Newey’s F1 future remains up in the air, with the likes of Ferrari, Williams, and McLaren all linked to the Briton. Mercedes, however, refuses to enter the tussle for Newey’s signature, as Team Principal Toto Wolff reiterates the fact that he believes in his team and its capabilities.
“We stick together as a team – in good and bad times. I know what I think of James Allison and his leadership force,” Wolff said to OE24.
Mercedes is on an upward trajectory after spending the last two seasons stuck in the midfield, which is likely why Wolff is placing his full trust in Technical Director Allison.
The Silver Arrows were never in the conversation to sign Newey but with Ferrari seemingly becoming less-favorite to land Newey with each passing day, Wolff’s team entered the mix.
gr: (about Adrian Newey leaving Redbull) doesn’t change our life… unless it’s a secret and he’s coming to Mercedes. who knows.”
q: “Is he?”
gr: “I don’t know… is he? I don’t know. “HE IS SO FUNNY LMAO pic.twitter.com/PkdoJ4SIdv
— simal⁶³ (@russelldocs) May 2, 2024
Recently, it was reported that Newey didn’t want to move out of the UK, which is why Ferrari’s chances of signing him diminished. Aston Martin and McLaren, both based in the country, became frontrunners as a result.
On the other hand, Alpine is believed to be an outside contender for Newey’s signature as well. However, since the Enstone-based squad is a customer team, this option wouldn’t be too appealing to the 65-year-old.
Meanwhile, Wolff denied that Mercedes made an offer to Newey, but they reportedly contacted the legendary aerodynamicist over a month ago.
Mercedes’ unsuccessful attempt at signing Newey
Mercedes approached Newey, offered him shares of the team, and also spoke about the possibility of signing Max Verstappen from Red Bull, as claimed by F1 Insider.
It would have created a super-team, as Newey had won titles in every team, he had been a part of and Verstappen was the best in F1.
The Team announces that Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey will leave the Red Bull Technology Group in the first quarter of 2025.
The engineering supremo will step back from Formula 1
design duties to focus on final development and delivery of Red Bull’s first hypercar, the… pic.twitter.com/FSSHqzieip— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 1, 2024
Newey, however, rejected the offer and remained tight-lipped on which team he wanted to join in 2025 when he would officially depart from Red Bull.
As of now, Newey hasn’t announced anything about his future. If he does think of staying in the UK and snubbing a Ferrari move in the process, Aston Martin could become the new favorite to sign him, with team owner Lawrence Stroll offering Newey as much as $126 million a year.
