Legendary Formula 1 car designer Adrian Newey is leaving Red Bull Racing early next year and will be free to join another team, with a Ferrari move most heavily tipped
Mercedes are said to have closed the door on the prospect of signing celebrated designer Adrian Newey after his Red Bull exit.
Newey’s departure was announced earlier this month ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. He is due to officially depart in ‘the first quarter of 2025′ but has already taken a step back from F1 duties.
Ever since the next broke, there has been intense speculation and discussion over what the 65-year-old’s next move will be. Several teams are likely to be keen on the idea of signing Newey but, according to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com, Mercedes have removed themselves from the running.
That’s despite a particularly lean period for the Silver Arrows in terms of success. They secured eight consecutive constructors’ titles between 2014 and 2021 but have won just one race across the last three seasons.
Toto Wolff is overseeing a changing of the guard in terms of his top personnel. Technical director James Allison is set to stay but elsewhere there has been plenty of change with more to come ahead of next season.
Driver development director Jerome D’Ambrosio and performance director Loic Serra both decided last year to leave and this month it was announced that both will be heading to join Ferrari. And at Imola last weekend Mirror Sport broke the news that head of aerodynamics Gioacchino Vino is also to depart.
Coming the other way, strategic development director Simone Resta is due to arrive from Ferrari along with simulation specialist Enrico Sampo. They will start work in October after a deal was reached with the Scuderia to also allow D’Ambrosio and Serra to begin their new roles at the same time.
The Motorsport.com report claims Mercedes gave some thought to the idea of making a move for Newey, who is renowned as one of F1’s best ever car designers. But it is now reported that team principal Wolff “has no intention of waiting for the choice of the English genius”.
Newey has been most heavily linked with Ferrari and could be designing cars for Lewis Hamilton in the future. But his manager Eddie Jordan said this week that Newey has yet to agree a deal to join the Scuderia and that he will not rush to make a decision over what his next project will be.
Jordan said: “It’s really very wrong to be so blatant about [Newey] joining a certain team. I’m speaking as someone who should know, and I’m not giving any information away, at no stage is any of this kind of discussion happening. There will be talks, and there is going to be ongoing talks, because we have yet to decide what Adrian himself wants to do.”
