F1 News: Aston Martin set to announce Newey deal on Tuesday

(GMM) Aston Martin has scheduled a press conference for next Tuesday, September 10. The Lawrence Stroll-owned team summoning specialist Formula 1 journalists to Silverstone comes amid rampant speculation that Adrian Newey has been signed up for 2025 and beyond.

The subject of the press conference has not been disclosed, but De Telegraaf newspaper claims an agreement between Newey and Red Bull forbids him to name his next F1 destination until Friday, 6 September.

A team spokesperson would not comment.

But reports suggest Newey, 65, has been successfully lured to Aston Martin on the promise of a whopping $26 million per year.

It is believed the Briton decided to leave Red Bull this year amid the heat of the earlier Christian Horner scandal, which may also have contributed to the formerly dominant Formula 1 team’s performance demise over the past several months.

“It’s clear that something like that doesn’t help,” Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko admitted to Osterreich newspaper this week. “But ultimately, our situation is not directly related to technical problems but to the departure of important people.

“If certain employees want a change and receive a good offer or see a new opportunity, then they take it,” the Austrian added.

So with Newey and other key people like Jonathan Wheatley departing, Red Bull may even struggle to hang onto Max Verstappen, who has several exit clauses written into his contract through 2028.

When asked if he knows for sure what team the triple world champion will be driving for in 2025 and 2026, Marko answered: “Next year he will be driving for Red Bull Racing.”

And 2026? “Ah, that’s so far away,” the team’s top F1 consultant said. “For now, our full focus is on the 2024 world championship.”

When asked at Monza last weekend about any link between Red Bull’s problems and Newey’s departure, Verstappen said: “I have always said that I would have liked Adrian to have stayed.”