After several months of speculation over his future, prominent Italian publication, Autosprint, has reported that Adrian Newey has chosen the team with which he intends to commit his future, following his departure from Oracle Red Bull Racing in early 2025.
In May 2024, Oracle Red Bull Racing announced, via a press release, that Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Newey, 65, would be stepping back from his Formula One design duties to focus on the completion of the RB17 hypercar, and would, subsequently, be leaving the company in the first quarter of 2025. Since this announcement, there has been widespread speculation over Newey’s future, with multiple teams, including Ferrari, Williams Racing, Aston Martin and McLaren expressing an interest in the famed engineer.
Initial rumours painted the Ferrari as an early favourite in the race to secure Newey’s services, especially with the team having signed seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton on a multi-year deal, alongside Charles Leclerc. However, Aston Martin soon emerged as the new favourite following reports that Newey had visited the team’s newly renovated facilities in Silverstone.
This speculation was strengthened following comments by Clarkson’s Farm and The Grand Tour star, Jeremy Clarkson, a friend of Newey’s, who stated that the engineer had been looking at properties in Oxfordshire, near the Aston Martin HQ, rather than in Maranello.
Speaking with Viaplay, a Dutch television channel in July 2024, Clarkson said, “Do you want an exclusive? I know Adrian Newey is house hunting in Oxfordshire, not Maranello.”
In August 2024, Autosprint reported that Newey, as suggested by Clarkson, had indeed opted to remain within the United Kingdom, committing his services to Aston Martin. Reported, Newey was convinced to join the Silverstone-based team by its part-owner and executive chairman, Lawrence Strulovitch, best known as Lawrence Stroll, who presented the engineering genius with a “shamelessly winning vision” which included both a concrete business plan and a billion-dollar investment. The engineer was reportedly further convinced by the continued partnership between the team and fuel supplier Aramco, as well as the prospect of an exclusive partnership agreement with power-unit supplier Honda from 2026 onward.
Honda, which is currently the works engine manufacturer for both Red Bull, competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, and RB, competing as Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team, is set to end their partnership with both Red Bull GmbH-owned teams at the end of 2025 Formula One season, and will be replaced by Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) from 2026 onward. Aston Martin, which is currently powered by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, is expected to change their engine supplier to Honda for the 2026 season onward and is likely to be the only team powered by the Japanese manufacturer in the early stage of the next era of Formula One.
A move to Aston Martin will also see Newey reunite with former Red Bull compatriot Dan Fallows, former Head of Aerodynamics at Red Bull, and current Technical Director at Aston Martin.
While Newey himself has not yet commented on these latest reports, Autosprint states that the deal, reportedly worth about 100 million dollars over four years, is expected to be announced in September due to Newey’s current contract with Red Bull prohibiting any official announcement before then. However, a recent post from journalist Thomas Maher claims that Aston Martin, though its spokesperson, denies that, as of writing, there is any pending announcement, though it acknowledges that it has been linked to “many high-profile individuals.”
Via X (formerly known as Twitter), Maher quoted the team as saying, “The Aston Martin Aramco F1 team is a very appealing project with Lawrence Stroll’s vision, a state-of-the-art new Technology Campus, and existing partnerships with Aramco and Honda. Many high-profile individuals across all areas of the team are linked to the project but we don’t have anything to announce.”
