Adrian Newey has been Red Bull’s mastermind for more than a decade and a half. With his ideas, the aerodynamics genius is primarily responsible for the strong performances of the Red Bulls in Formula 1 in recent years. It’s no wonder, then, that the F1 competition has already knocked on the door of the British. Ferrari in particular is said to have shown interest on several occasions. And once it was apparently very close to an agreement, as Newey now reveals.
Adrian Newey is now 64 years old. Since 2006 he has been under contract as Technical Director at the Formula 1 racing team Red Bull Racing. But if the probably best and most successful F1 car designer of all time were a little younger, then he might not work for the Austrian racing team at all, but for Scuderia Ferrari, as he revealed in an interview with “Sky Italia”.
“I’ve had discussions with Ferrari in the past,” Newey revealed to Italian TV, adding: “It really appealed to me because the brand is so legendary.”
In terms of timing, however, this request was not about the rumors that the Red Bull motorsport consultant spoke about recently, but about events from the more distant past.
“The most tempting move was between 1993 and 1997 when I went from Williams to McLaren,” Newey recalled. At that time, the Scuderia was a very tempting option.
“It was really a difficult decision,” said the 64-year-old, adding: “At that time my children were still young and I didn’t know if they would get along in an Italian school. Because if I had switched to a team, based in Italy, my family would definitely have moved with me.”
The Brit stayed in his homeland and – after his time at Williams – also led McLaren and later Red Bull to success. In his four-decade career, he has won eleven Constructors’ World Championship titles and his designs have been instrumental in twelve drivers winning the Drivers’ World Championship, most recently Max Verstappen in 2022 and 2021.