Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Newey at Ferrari — Photo: © IMAGO

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Newey and Hamilton could enjoy stunning title REPEAT after F1 guru's Red Bull exit

Newey and Hamilton have been here before ahead of F1 2026 revamp

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Wednesday 1 May 2024 18:58

Adrian Newey’s Red Bull exit may have been on the cards for a few days now, but that still doesn’t make the eventual announcement any less dramatic when considering the future of Formula 1.

The Milton Keynes outfit confirmed the legendary F1 designer's exit from the team on Wednesday, revealing that the chief technical officer will officially depart during the first quarter of 2025.

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As ever with these things, and especially in F1, timing is crucial and given he was under a Red Bull contract until the end of 2025 and reportedly could have been on gardening leave until as late as 2027, this latest development adds another unknown ingredient to a 2026 season that as it edges closer continues to breed excitement given the new rules and regulations coming in.

To put it all into perspective, whether Red Bull have a 0.2 or two second advantage over their rivals by the end of 2025 it’s all irrelevant such is the changing nature between F1 at the end of 2025 and start of 2026.

If you want an example of this, try the hybrid era for size. The 2013 season ended with nine straight Sebastian Vettel wins for Red Bull, the next year the world champion couldn’t get anywhere near a victory (nor his new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo) as the sport welcomed back turbo technology in 2014.

And who was ready to pounce on the new era at the most opportune moment that year? Lewis Hamilton of course – taking the drivers' title and then another five up until the end of 2020 when Mercedes had its F1 competition in a vice-like grip.

It was perfect timing for the seven-time champion, who had only joined Mercedes in 2013 following a shock McLaren exit where he previously had looked loyal to the end. The parallels with his 2025 switch to Ferrari are uncanny.

Where will Adrian Newey go in 2025?

Newey’s future remains opaque beyond his 2025 Red Bull exit, with to date no news on clauses or any gardening leave. But there seems to be three clear options emerging. The outsider is a rather shock F1 retirement. This is an idea floated by his manager Eddie Jordan, although this could just be business talk/tactics from a man who certainly knows his way around a negotiating table and an F1 deal following his memorable days as Jordan F1’s team principal and owner.

Adrian Newey has brought plenty of F1 success to Red Bull

Aston Martin and Ferrari are both in the hunt for Adrian Newey

Links to Aston Martin also continue to linger despite reports of him turning down an offer around the weekend of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll remains hopeful of landing Newey, whose day-to-day home life would be kept to minimum disruption given the team’s base at Silverstone, while working with two-time champion Fernando Alonso, now committed to the team beyond 2024, is still one of Newey’s lifelong dreams.

The ‘big one’ though is the temptation of a move to Ferrari and what in many fans’ view is the mouth-watering linkup with Hamilton.

Could Newey join Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari?

So let’s run with that scenario. Newey leaves Red Bull and immediately begins work at Ferrari at the start of the 2025 season as Hamilton makes his debut in those famous red overalls. What can we expect?

For 2025, it will already be too late for Newey’s genius to have had a major impact on the design of the car. Sure he could perhaps suggest ideas and use his experience to help develop the car, but he will more than likely be tasked with getting Ferrari ready for the 2026 F1 revamp– and he has a good track record for doing exactly this.

Lewis Hamilton will be joining Ferrari from Mercedes in 2025

Newey joined McLaren from the all-conquering Williams team in time for the 1997 season with Ron Dennis's team having been effective also-rans in 1996. By the start of a new F1 era with grooved tyres and narrower cars in 1998, McLaren turned up in Australia with a car effectively a second faster than anyone not called Michael Schumacher, before going on to claim both titles spearheaded by world champion Mika Hakkinen.

Reading this article alone, you may ask then what happened with Red Bull between 2013 and 2014 under Newey’s watch? The answer is you will find very few faults with the Red Bull design that season and instead find the beginning of the end of the team’s relationship with engine supplier Renault. A story for another day.

The stars are aligning then. Given Newey will likely have already played a major role in starting development of Red Bull’s 2025 car, his influence will still be key at Red Bull deep into next season as Hamilton and Newey potentially get settled at Maranello.

And even if 2025 doesn’t bring success but a bedding in year similar to 2013 for Hamilton at Mercedes or 1997 for Newey at McLaren – the new rules for 2026 could be the year Ferrari launch an unbeatable partnership of the pair that may just finally give the seven-time world champion that all-elusive title number eight that continues to motivate him to race well into his 40s.

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Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continued to study the history of the sport long before that. Being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

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