As per the latest developments, Aston Martin reportedly offered Adrian Newey a staggering $126 million to have him on board. The celebrated aerodynamicist announced his exit from Red Bull a few months ago and is currently the most sought-after man in Formula 1.
Besides Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes, Newey’s name grabbed most headlines in recent times after the British engineer insisted on moving away from Milton Keynes. Red Bull senior officials announced the departure of Newey last month amid the tussle of power within the Red Bull camp.
Newey is currently associated with the Austrian team until the first quarter of 2025, but his destination beyond that is still unknown. However, from Ferrari to Mercedes and, of course, Aston Martin, every team wants him at their helm.
Amid this, Aston Martin’s latest proposal of $126 million [£100 million] for four years turned all heads. As per Motorsport, Lawrence Stroll is all ready to shell out the aforementioned amount to have Newey take over the Silverstone-based team’s technical department.
This has come after the British engineer’s initial denial to join the British team back in May. Reports surfaced that Lawrence Stroll approached Newey during the 2024 Miami Grand Prix in Florida. However, Adrian Newey snubbed the idea.
Newey is arguably the most successful engineer in the sport’s history. He helped Red Bull clinch 13 titles [seven Drivers’ championships and six Constructors’ championships] in his nearly two decades stay in the team.
As things stand, Red Bull and Max Verstappen are all set to win both championships this year as well, which will further increase his tally. Besides this, he also has 12 combined titles he won with McLaren and Williams.
F1 expert unravels Adrian Newey’s short visit to Silverstone
While the F1 world was busy figuring out Adrian Newey’s next move, the master designer quietly had a tour of Aston Martin’s Silverstone-based factory last week. Sky Sports’ Craig Slater detailed his takeaways from the visit. He said:
“Newey did indeed visit the Aston Martin factory a couple of weeks ago. This was almost a behind-closed-doors event. Aston Martin kept staff away, they did not want news of this visit leaking out.”Newey toured the campus, met with Lawrence Stroll, the team owner, and personal terms have been discussed. My understanding is Aston Martin can meet Newey’s personal demands, although they are very considerable indeed,” Slater further added.
Last week, reports of Adrian Newey joining Ferrari for $105 million for three years emerged. However, there was no concrete follow-up to cement the move. Amid this, new reports that linked Aston Martin and Newey surfaced again.