Lewis Hamilton will end his nigh on life lifelong association with Mercedes next season following his shock announcement he was leaving to join Ferrari next season. Clearly the Italian based Formula One team have grasped the current set of car design regulations far better than the eight times world champions as they sit second in the championship behind Red Bull on 187 points while the Silver Arrows languish in fourth on 64 points.
This weekends Emilia-Romagne Grand Prix will be the first of Ferrari’s home races this year and the famous red livery will be sporting a raft of upgrades to their car. The Scuderia have used up one of their two annual ‘filming days’ this past week to test the new components where they ran the car for 200km which is allowed by the FIA for ‘promotional purposes’.
Hamilton makes Newey No.1 target
Noises emerging from Maranello following the ‘test’ are extremely optimistic that Ferrari can match the jump made by McLaren last time out in Miami, where Lando Norris was the fastest man on track and beat Verstappen in a straight fight for the Grand Prix victory, albeit with a little help from the safety car.
Alongside Lewis Hamilton’s big news came the even bigger surprise with the announcement that Adrian Newey will be leaving Red Bull next year and that he has already completed his work for the Formula One team. This has created feverous speculation that the guru F1 car designer will find himself chomping on pasta in the Maranello canteen, once the dust has settled over his Red Bull divorce.
Newey has revealed Ferrari have approached him three times during his career to live the dolce vita the most recent being in 2014 when Red Bull realised Renault had spent a fraction of the budget on their new V8 Turbo engines when compared to the all conquering Mercedes.
Throw into the mix the repeated admiration of Newey expressed by Lewis Hamilton who told assembled media in Miami: “If I was to do a list of people that I’d love to work with, he would absolutely be at the top there.”
Newey claims he’s “tired”
Much has been made of the supposition that Newey is somehow disappointed with Christian Horner following the allegations made against him ate the turn of the year, yet Horner has been exonerated following an investigation led by an independent Kings Counsel. This writer knows Newey is no moralistic snob and the worst of the revelations made so far would suggest Christian may at worst have engaged in some ‘sexting’ behind his wife’s back – which is not a crime.
Following the Red Bull announcement in Miami, Newey gave a single interview over the weekend to Sky F1’s Martin Brundle where he claimed the end of his 18 year tenure was mainly down to fatigue and a desire to travel with his wife and dogs.
Yet still the conspiracists continue to link one of F1’s greatest ever car designers with other Formula One teams despite Newey stating clearly:
“I don’t know, there comes a point where I just felt, as Forrest Gump said, ‘I’m feeling a little bit tired’.” Adrian went on to outline the vague plans in place for when he completes his work on there Red Bull; RB17 hypercar, which include “Mandy, my wife, and the dogs, we’ll probably go travelling. Get a motorhome or something and go down through France and just enjoy life,” and he concluded, “Right now there is no plan.”
Newey ‘truth’ revealed
Yet still the rumour mill continues its never ended circle that Newey is lining up his next role with another F1 team. Now ex-F1 racer and expert pundit Karen Chandhock reveals his belief that Newey was in fact speaking the truth to Martin Brundle
“Whether they get Adrian Newey is still the big question mark that everyone’s waiting to see how that unfolds,” Chandhock told the Sky podcast. “I genuinely believe what Adrian was saying to Martin [Brundle] in Miami, which is I think he is going to just have some time off and consider his options.”
Adrian Newey has also been linked with a MEGA money offer from Lawrence Stroll who owns the Aston Martin F1 team, although having given his life to then sport its unknown whether Newey wants to help the ‘Johnny come lately’ Canadian Billionaire turn a quick profit that success on track would bring.
With Red Bull and Mercedes duelling it to the death in 2021, the heat off track regularly boiled over making the rivals F1 teams ‘the best of enemies.’ As the Red Bull underdogs circled the wagons, Newey and Horner hunkered down under the torrent of abuse thrown at them by Mercedes’ team boss Toto Wolff.
Mercedes ‘bridges burned’
Those burned bridges can surely not be mended and so a move to Brackley appears as remote as Lewis Hamilton winning a race this year.
Chandhock concludes by suggesting following his ‘time off’ Newey may well find himself back in F1, something which has dominated his entire life. Yet “that is another story” said the Indian racing driver and even a return to Red Bull Racing is not out of the question.
But it appears Hamilton’s hoped of working with Newey have been dashed. Further the F1 car design guru will not be giving input to the coming biggest regulation change Formula One has ever seen. He has though been building a technical team for 18 years which know Newey’s work inside out, and it will be their efforts that in fact are his lasting legacy, along with the all dominant winning F1 cars Newey has created over the years.
Scoop on Verstappen’s exit clause revealed
It has long been known that Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has at least one exit clause in his contract with Red Bull, which runs until 2028. This is linked to the future of “foster father” Helmut Marko and would apparently enable him to move to Mercedes at the best possible time. If true, a concept that somewhat undermines the apparent loyalties of the Austrian Red Bull veteran and senior figure within the Red Bull team.
In 2024, the Formula One world is rife with rumours that Max Verstappen could leave Red Bull Racing before the end of his contract. The speculation has been fuelled by a number of factors, from team dynamics and performance issues to potential offers from rival teams. As the rumour mill continues to churn, the implications of such a move are profound, both for Verstappen and the wider F1 landscape…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Chandhok… his insights are on a level with his driving ability.
Why would Newey want to have his garden leave cancelled if he wasn’t going to sign for another team. There would be no point.
“although having given his life to then sport its unknown whether Newey wants to help the ‘Johnny come lately’ Canadian Billionaire turn a quick profit that success on track would bring”
Considering Stroll has been involved in F1 since Tommy Hillfiger first sponsored Lotus in 1991, and has been steadily ramping up ever since to his team ownership now, he could hardly be called a “Johnny come lately”
Poor, tabloid “journalism”