Red Bull losing Newey no big deal, clueless Ralf wrong again

(GMM) A “new era” has dawned for Red Bull, as rival teams line up to sign the departing Adrian Newey, despite the fact he may very well do something outside of F1 or retire.

Even Mario Andretti, representing the GM-backed team that is yet to even get approval to enter Formula 1, is putting up his hand to snap up the sport’s most coveted and suddenly-available technical genius. [Newey was Mario’s race engineer in 1987 in IndyCar]

“That’s a simple question – 100 percent yes,” the 1978 world champion laughed to NBC News.

If 65-year-old Newey chooses to move to another team rather than begin to step away from F1, it appears much more likely that he will join Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, or so the Hamilton fanboys hope.

“Negotiations for the brilliant engineer are at an advanced stage,” reports the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Seven time world champion Hamilton, still with Mercedes but set to be a Ferrari driver from 2025, doesn’t hide that he would “very much” like Newey to head to Maranello.

In Miami, he denied that Newey joining was actually a condition of his own Ferrari deal.

“I mean, this is all private conversation stuff,” said Hamilton. “I can’t tell you. I can’t tell you what was in the discussions.

“But if I was to do a list of people that I’d love to work with, he would absolutely be at the top.”

And Hamilton’s 2025 teammate, incumbent Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, said on Thursday: “I think we’re in a good place to attract the best people in the world.

“Adrian is one of those guys that can make a difference.”

Newey has also been linked with Aston Martin, but Fernando Alonso insisted in Miami that the Silverstone based team doesn’t necessarily need the famous Briton.

“We already have very good engineers,” said the Spaniard. “And with a new addition of his caliber, the question always arises as to how he would fit in with the rest of the team.”

For now at least, Red Bull is putting a brave face on the major blow of losing Newey. “I think it’s normal to have this sort of movement of people,” Sergio Perez said, “but I think the organization remains really strong and I don’t see any more changes coming.”

Indeed, technical director Pierre Wache is staying at Red Bull – even if a bigger question mark hangs over whether Max Verstappen might be starting to look at the exit door.

“No, not at the moment,” the triple world champion said when asked if Newey leaving makes him question his own commitment to Red Bull.

“At the end of the day, we have a really strong group of people that maybe aren’t talked enough about in the press,” Verstappen added. “It’s really important to have the quickest car and of course a good environment.

“That’s what we have currently, even if I would have preferred him to stay. But I think if you knew what was already happening inside the team and how it works, it’s not as dramatic as it seems.”

However, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher [who has an axe to grind with Christian Horner and keeps opening his mouth and continues to be 100% wrong] thinks Verstappen is just putting a brave face on the situation for now. “I think he’s already looking for a new place,” the German told DPA news agency.

“The only question is when this transition will take place – 2025 or 2026,” Schumacher added. “But anyway, I’m convinced that he wants to leave.”

And Schumacher said the situation could get even worse than that for Red Bull.

“Other engineers will follow him because they want to keep working with Adrian Newey,” he predicted. “The atmosphere in the team is far from ideal, to put it mildly. This is not want Dietrich Mateschitz wanted.

“What is happening now is shameful and sad,” said Schumacher. “I believe it is the beginning of a new era for Red Bull and that he is not the last to go.

“If that does happen, the team could slip into mediocrity with the new rules for 2026 at the latest.”

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Williams Team talking to Newey

RacingNews365 has reported that James Vowles has had discussions with the former Red Bull designer as Newey continues to map his future in the sport.

The reports from the Italian media have all but declared that Ferrari is going to be the next destination for Adrian Newey. The role of ‘super consultant’ is what is being floated at this stage, in which Newey won’t have to build an entire team around him but be more of a contributor to the squad, just like he was at Red Bull.

There is, however, the case where the announcement has not been made, and hence rumors have been doing the rounds on where his future could be. In the same vein, RacingNews365 reports that Adrian Newey has had discussions with Williams team principal James Vowles for a potential return to the team after 3 decades.

Williams is one team that has been trying to regain some of the goldust it had during its heyday. James Vowles has been relentlessly at work trying to rebuild a team that has not won a title since 1997. Bringing Newey is certainly a part of that rebuilding phase. According to the publication, talks have begun on a positive note, and it remains to be seen what happens next.

Ironically, the last Williams car that won the title was in 1997 and it was essentially an Adrian Newey creation. The team is not the same F1 giant that it once was. The finances and success have dried out and as a result, the team is not even close to having the kind of glory that defined it in the 1990s.

If Newey does go back to the team, no doubt it would be a fresh challenge, but it would also be a major prop for James Vowles, who was able to convince Adrian to take the plunge.