With the news of Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull F1 being confirmed on Wednesday, there has been much talk about where his future steps will lead.
The top candidate seems to be the legendary red team, Ferrari, which has already signed Lewis Hamilton as their driver for the 2025 season and forward.
The seven-time world champion himself now spoke about the situation and possibility of joining forces with the brilliant designer who’s been tied to Red Bull for the last eighteen years.
When asked if he wants to link up with Newey at Ferrari next year during the drivers’ press conference ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton’s answer was short yet honest: “Very much.”
Given the fact Newey has been rumoured to have received a big-money offer from not only Ferrari, but also Aston Martin, he’s very much the hottest commodity on the Formula 1 employment market right now.
“Adrian is known for such a great history and track record, and he’s obviously done an amazing job in his career at engaging with teams and the knowledge that he has, I think he would be an amazing addition,” Hamilton added.
“They [Ferrari] already have a great team, they’re making huge progress and strides forward, the car is quicker this year, but it will be a privilege to work with him.”
“It is all private conversation stuff, but if I was to make a list of people I would love to work with, he would absolutely be at the top of it.”
Hamilton also spoke about a “privilege” he had when joining McLaren in the early years of his career, where the car he was racing was evolved from Newey’s original designs as he was working with the team previously between 1997 and 2005, winning two Drivers’ Championships with Finn Mika Häkkinen in 1998 and 1999.
“From my perspective, when I joined McLaren, it was an evolution of his car, and I think I got there just after he left, so that car would have evolved from the design that he had worked on, so I felt privileged that I had the chance to touch something he had worked on.”
However, as the seven-time World Champion quickly pointed out after, there are many other people involved in the process of building a great Formula 1 car.
“There is not one key person, it is a whole team of people who do the job”. Although, admittedly, “any team would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with [Newey]”, because even for Hamilton “racing against the team that he’s been so heavily part of throughout the years has been a massive challenge”.
Hamilton added that, “I don’t anticipate Red Bull not continuing to build great cars moving forwards”.
Even through his struggles, Hamilton finds himself in a unique situation being supported by not only his loyal Mercedes fans, but also gains recognition from the Tifosi, signing a lot of Ferrari merchandise lately.
Nothing is yet sure, but there’s no doubt the teaming up of Adrian Newey and Lewis Hamilton would have the potential for many great things and achievements. With Newey’s impressive combined 25 Drivers’ and Constructors’ championship titles and over 200 Grand Prix wins in the teams he’s been working at, and Hamilton’s record-tying seven Drivers’ Championship titles and record-breaking 103 Grand Prix wins, what else would it be than utter ‘dream-team’, especially for Ferrari’s team principal Fred Vasseur, who would make probably one of the best deals ever.
