Is this really a no from Aston Martin to Adrian Newey?

Mike Krack, the Aston Martin team boss, is denying media reports that his racing team made a very high financial offer for star designer Adrian Newey.

On closer inspection, however, it becomes clear that his denial does not contradict “Motorsport-Total.com” research that Aston Martin wants to move Newey away from Red Bull.

At Suzuka, Krack responded with an emphatic “no” to a Sky reporter’s question as to whether Aston Martin had made an “astronomical offer” for Newey. However, with a smile on his face, he leaves it open whether it is referring to something “astrological” or the offer itself.

Because the offer has to be there, the sources are open. Although Krack suggests that they already have a “very strong technical team” with Dan Fallows (Technical Director), Tom McCullough (Executive Director), Luca Furbatto (Engineering Director) and new addition Bob Bell (Executive Director). “We’re happy with what we have,” says Krack.

Newey’s possible departure after the controversy surrounding team boss Christian Horner is not something that currently worries Max Verstappen: “I haven’t spoken to Adrian about it yet,” shakes off the reigning world champion. “I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t care about things like that, I was skiing and I didn’t have time to study.”

Verstappen: “Adrian’s role has changed over the years”

“Of course it would be nice if everyone in this team stayed together, but if someone wants to leave, sometimes you can’t stop that,” says Verstappen and added: “Adrian’s role has changed over the years. But everyone in the team has an important role in success ours.”

He is sure that people like Newey and Helmut Marko are difficult to replace. Verstappen insists: “A lot of people contribute to the car being fast. But of course I would prefer Adrian to stay with us. He would also take a lot of knowledge with him to other teams.”

Newey is an architect who is “in great demand,” adds Marko. Red Bull’s motorsport advisor said in an interview with the Dutch edition of “Motorsport.com”: “Newey is what everyone wants. It wasn’t the first offer he got, and it won’t be the last either.”

Ferrari is also probably interested in Newey

In addition to Aston Martin, according to Italian media reports, Ferrari is also said to be interested in Newey. Marko: “Losing him would be a huge loss. Also because it would mean another team would get him. He would take a lot of skills with him, but also his incredible wealth of experience.”

Marko insists that the technical team at Red Bull is bigger than Newey. But: “Newey is also a cult figure and therefore very important to young engineers. They come to our team because they want to work with Newey once in their life. Overall, it is a great advantage to have Adrian with us.”

Verstappen, however, is less worried about the fact that his former chief mechanic Lee Stevenson is moving to Sauber: “He has not been my chief mechanic since 2020,” explains Verstappen. “I knew last year that he would move and the team adapted well.”