As rumours continue to swirl about Adrian Newey’s next F1 destination, one team has officially dropped out of the race to sign arguably the greatest designer in the sport’s history.
McLaren.
Team The CEO spoke BBC Sports A feature article published on Wednesday touched on the team’s rise up the standings and a possible title challenger against Red Bull, but towards the end of the article Brawn addressed speculation that Newey might return to McLaren, making it clear that no such reunion was planned.
“I’m not going to sign Adrian,” Brown said. BBC Sports“I’m very happy with the team. Adrian is a great friend, a great talent and has a résumé that’s second to none. But given the situation here, I couldn’t be happier. We can get the job done. I’m happy with our race team and will aim to win a world championship with the team that’s here today.”
Brown’s comments came a day after Italian media reported that Newey had booked his next move from Red Bull, with Aston Martin winning the race to sign him. Italian Outlets Auto SprintThe decision sees him join Aston Martin on a four-year, $100 million deal. Newey is said to have been influenced by Lawrence Stroll’s vision for the team’s future, which includes the construction of a huge new campus based at Silverstone. Additionally, the team will switch to Honda power units for the 2026 season in line with new regulations.
Brown’s statement about Newey is not the only news working in Aston Martin’s favour. Auto Sprint A statement released on Wednesday said Ferrari was willing to meet “any” salary demands made by Newey, but that Newey also wanted decision-making power, leading Ferrari to hit the pause button.
With McLaren now officially out of the running for Newey, and Ferrari likely to follow suit, perhaps only Williams can stop him from moving to Aston Martin.
