Wolff SLAMMED over Mercedes Newey approach as move hit by criticism

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has been slammed for his failure to sign departing Red Bull design chief Adrian Newey.

Newey shocked the world of Formula 1 earlier this year, announcing that he was set to call time on what has been an extraordinarily successful spell at the reigning constructors' champions.

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The Brit - widely regarded as the greatest car designer in the sport's history - has helped deliver 13 championships in total since joining the team in 2006, with Red Bull claiming six constructors' titles during that period, as well as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen securing four and three drivers' titles respectively.

In the months following the announcement of his exit, the 65-year-old has been linked with a number of teams, most notably Ferrari, who were reported to have already agreed a lucrative deal for his signature at one stage.

However, that was denied, and in the last couple of months, Aston Martin have emerged as contenders, with reports now suggesting that Newey has agreed a deal with the team.

Did Mercedes try to sign Adrian Newey?

Despite the clamour from most of the paddock to land the Red Bull guru, one team that have never really been in the running to recruit Newey is Mercedes, with team chief Wolff stating they were not looking to make a move.

Given Mercedes' struggles to compete with Red Bull in recent years, that move to rule the team out has come under fierce criticism from former F1 team manager Peter Windsor, who worked alongside Newey in the early 1990s when he was at Williams.

“It's better to have Adrian than not have him," Windsor explained, speaking on his YouTube channel.

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"If you have Adrian, he's not working for anyone else either - it's a double whammy for anyone that gets him.

“I think it's a sad indictment of Toto Wolff's management since 2022 that he's not going to Mercedes - he should be going to Mercedes.

“If Toto had really done the job, he should be hiring Newey now so they could get more championships.

"That's the most outstanding indictment of this whole thing, that Adrian is not even considering Mercedes from what we gather.”

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