Adrian Newey: Switch to Aston Martin or Ferrari?

If you don’t know the history, you would be surprised by the rumors surrounding Red Bull. The main players in the power struggle are conducting themselves on the racetrack as if there has been no upheaval in the championship team.

One can almost talk about a perfect world or at least business as usual when Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen or Adrian Newey talk or even eat together at the table. Many viewers wonder if they just dreamed what has been filling sports pages or internet sites with stories for weeks.

In fact, there are two worlds at Red Bull On the surface, everyone is trying to do their job as efficiently as possible to keep the success machine running smoothly. But behind the scenes, the tug of war over corporate restructuring and racing continues unabated.

Fear that the empire will fall

Christian Horner sees himself as the new general with the support of many Thai owners and wants to keep the Austrian part at bay as much as possible. All attempts by the opposition party to stop Horner from doing so have so far failed.

A few in the team are worried that the rebellion could cause the kingdom to collapse. Max Verstappen and Adrian Newey are among them. The three-time world champion has already made it clear that his stay at the team depends on what happens to Red Bull sporting director Helmut Marko.

Graz is the key to Verstappen’s future. If Marko leaves or has to leave, Verstappen can leave. Mercedes is just waiting for this moment. The best insurance for Red Bull is that Mercedes is not an attractive option at the moment. Red Bull wins. Mercedes follows behind.

Leaving would be a double loss

Verstappen will be an irreparable loss for Red Bull. Also because the alternatives are getting narrower. Lewis Hamilton is committed to Ferrari for a long time, Fernando Alonso stays at Aston Martin, Lando Norris is married to McLaren. And Carlos Sainz is being pressured by Audi to make a decision.

The loss of Adrian Newey would be just as good. Even if the star designer only works part-time for Formula 1 and the Red Bull cars of the last few years were all the product of a high-end design office, the value of the 65-year-old Englishman should not be underestimated. .

Newey is one of the few engineers in the scene who has a thorough understanding of the race car concept and more experience than anyone else. The Groundeffect era has shown that these two qualities are the key to success.

A loss to Newey would have hit Red Bull twice. The team itself would lose the highest technical authority. The worst thing is that with him the competition gets the expertise that they urgently need.

Ferrari or Aston Martin?

Although Newey lives in his own technical world, his antennae are always keenly aware of when something is going wrong in the team. There is nothing he hates more than local politics. Ever since Red Bull’s financial fortunes went awry, the competition has tasted blood. If there was ever a chance for Newey to play for Red Bull, it’s now.

The longest serving designer in the field is said to have offers from Ferrari and Aston Martin. Mercedes has not yet participated in the search for the master. It seems with fear that an icon like Newey could cause so much chaos inside. His skills would be needed right now and another reason for Verstappen to give his yes to Mercedes.

Aston Martin would have a territorial advantage with its headquarters in England, but Newey could fulfill a hitherto unqualified interest in Ferrari. In Newey’s opinion, for 30 years there were always good reasons for the inactivity of the racing team from Maranello. But the end of his career will be the crowning achievement. And obviously this time is bad. Newey was recently spotted at Bologna airport.

Newey will not be released until 2026

Whoever gets it will have to wait. The man whose cars have won twelve constructors’ titles is still under contract until the end of 2025. First, Newey has to deliver the Red Bull RB17 supercar. It should be on wheels in September 2025.

If the dream marriage with Ferrari comes true, then Gerhard Berger predicts a second Schumacher era for Ferrari. “And Hamilton instead of Michael.” And if he was an Aston Martin, then Fernando Alonso would be really gambling. Newey said in an interview a few months ago that he regretted never working with Alonso. That can be changed.