Earlier this year, Scuderia Ferrari went on a recruitment spree, signing the likes of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and several other profound engineers from rival outfits. The entire Maranello outfit looked hungrier than ever, especially after investing millions of dollars in the veteran Mercedes driver. Subsequently, the Tifosi started to wonder, ‘A dream team in the making?’ as the attention steadily shifted to Adrian Newey.
What next, almost like deja vu, several rumours of Adrian Newey’s move to Ferrari after his decade-long tenure with Red Bull Racing started spreading across the Formula 1 community. Only this time, the ever-impractical move finally seemed practical enough, thanks to Ferrari’s ambitious and aggressive approach in the market.
Therefore, a Hamilton-Newey union seemed inevitable. Charles Leclerc in the team was icing on the cake and the Tifosi was set to do the ‘chef’s kiss’ before the ambitious dream started to crumble in the face of reality. Ferrari was no longer in the hunt for the aero mastermind, as Aston Martin and Williams took over the spotlight and acknowledged their interest in Newey.
And now, barely weeks since the unexpected twist, Aston Martin is all set to announce Newey as one of their own. By the looks of it, Newey will start working his magic on the Aston Martin cars from mid or late next year. Hence, one big question continues to linger among the Italian fandom; how did Aston Martin manage to stop Newey from going to Ferrari?
How Aston Martin denied Ferrari their dream engineer
Much like Ferrari, Aston Martin, too, is in the process of building a formidable outfit. With the massive new headquarters up and running, new engineers from Mercedes and Red Bull in the mix, and of course, Fernando Alonso behind the wheel, all Aston Martin needed was an impeccable car designer. The only difference here is that, unlike Ferrari, Aston Martin was prepared to throw the kitchen sink at signing Newey.
How you might ask? According to Motorsport, Aston Martin’s offer to Newey was worth close to a whopping $100 million plus bonuses for results. Hence, having just invested a huge amount in Hamilton, neither Ferrari nor its team principal, Fred Vasseur, was too keen on going against Aston Martin in a ‘bidding war’.
The big announcement from Aston Martin feat. world-renowned aerodynamicist Adrian Newey is due to take place at the succeeding race weekend in Baku, Azerbaijan. If this rumour comes to fruition, do you think this is the start of glory days for Lawrence Stroll and Co.?
Sara Chavan