Renowned F1 designer Adrian Newey has said it would have been “fantastic” to work with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, and even said he could have moved to Ferrari.
Newey, Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer who just won the 2023 constructors’ championship, has turned down approaches from Ferrari three times.
He said he regrets not working for the Scuderia, as well as not having the chance to design cars for F1 champion Alonso and Mercedes rival Hamilton.
Appearing on the official F1 podcast Beyond The Grid, Newey revealed the time when he was approached by Ferrari.
“I probably don’t count the times when I was approached by Ferrari in IndyCar, but it was in ’93 and famously in 2014. ’93 was very attractive,” Newey said.
“I got off because Jean Todt (team principal) had just started. I remember him talking about whether he should hire Michael (Schumacher). ‘Do you think it was a good idea? ?”
The newlywed Newey declined the offer, citing the break-up of his previous marriage as he was splitting his time between working for the British and American marches.
Asked by podcast host Tom Clarkson if he would have agreed to the set-up that Ferrari allowed designer John Barnard, who persuaded the team to set up a remote facility in Guildford, Newey said: “I have never made such a request and I do not believe in it. If I were to do it, Ferrari would be an Italian team.”
“The idea of having an R&D center in a completely separate location from the race team, I know that our sister teams (AlphaTauri, split between Faenza in Italy and Bicester in England) have such a team. But I don’t believe in that concept.”
When Ferrari approached him in 2014, at the dawn of the 1.6-litre turbo hybrid era, Newey was happy with Red Bull, but the attitude of engine supplier Renault made him consider leaving.
“The discussions that Ferrari and I had in 2014 were purely out of frustration,” Newey continued.
“I really didn’t want to quit, but we were in a situation where Renault wasn’t producing competitive turbo-hybrid engines.
“That’s what happens in the first year of new rules, because you make mistakes.”
“But we, Christian[Horner]Helmut[Marko]and myself, went to Carlos Ghosn[the ousted former CEO of Renault]and tried to put pressure on him to increase the budget.”
“Ghosn’s response was, ‘I’m not interested in F1 at all. I’m just doing it because the marketing people say I should.’ It was depressing.”
Newey admitted there were emotional overtones to not joining Ferrari, but said he also wanted the chance to work with Hamilton and Alonso.
Asked if he regretted turning down Maranello’s invitation, Newey replied: “Emotionally, maybe to some extent. Yes.”
“But it would have been great to work with Fernando or Luis, for example. But that never happened. It was just the way things were and that’s the reality.”
Category: F1 / red bull racing
2023-09-27 22:43:57
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