Adrian Newey might be leaving Red Bull in 2025, but that doesn’t mean he’s stopped working hard behind the scenes.
The genius designer has stepped away from Red Bull’s Formula 1 program but at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Adrian Newey unveiled his latest project.
The RB17 hypercar looks mightily impressive and is another example of what Newey can do.
However, he’s also going to be thinking about his next steps in F1 with his time at the Austrian manufacturer quickly ticking down.
Many of Red Bull’s rivals have made attempts to try and sign Newey.
His importance will only be exaggerated going forward with new regulations being introduced to the sport in 2026.
Newey proved with the current generation of ground-effect cars that he has an understanding of the ruleset that no other team does and if that happens again in 2026 then he’s going to become even more valuable.
Journalists Rebecca Clancy and Ben Hunt were discussing Newey’s future on the Inside The Piranha Club Podcast.
They believe that one team on the grid is already preparing for his arrival and are starting to put a team into place to help him.
Newey recently had dinner with Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll and a deadline has now been set for him to respond to their initial offer.
Aston Martin are stranded in the middle of the field this season and it would need a huge step forward to catch the leading four teams.
Bringing in someone of Newey’s calibre alongside the other recent signings they’ve made would be a huge boost.
However, it won’t be known for some time what Newey’s final decision is for 2025 and beyond.
Adrian Newey already putting together a team to work with at Aston Martin
Talking about the movements happening behind the scenes at Aston Martin, Clancy said: “Enrico Cardile has left Ferrari to join Aston Martin.
“The chatter is that Adrian Newey is putting together a team, that Aston Martin contract for Newey is apparently written out waiting for a signature.
“Ferrari are still very much interested in Newey, what do you think?”
Hunt added: “I agree, Aston [Martin] are getting everything ready aren’t they? Clearing out Martin Whitmarsh who doesn’t have a massively good relationship with Adrian in the past.
“They were at the same team McLaren and they don’t necessarily get on. Andy Cowell comes in as the new guy at Aston.
“I think this is all shaping up to look like an Adrian Newey arrival, I think that’s probably where we’re at.
“Which would be interesting as Aston need to do something to make that step up.”
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Aston Martin preparing for 2026 Formula 1 title push
Aside from the uncertainty over Newey’s future, the driver market is a big talking point in Formula 1 at the moment.
More than half of the teams on the grid have still yet to confirm their pairings for 2025, but Aston Martin already have their two drivers locked in for next year and the beginning of the new regulations.
Fernando Alonso is the oldest driver on the grid but still more than capable of challenging his younger rivals in the right car.
Question marks will exist around Lance Stroll’s capacity to drive for a team challenging at the very front of the grid until he proves he can at least match his teammate.
Aston Martin also have Honda arriving as their exclusive power unit provider from 2026 and given their work with Red Bull over the past few seasons, that will fill them with confidence.
The collection of world-class staff Aston Martin are recruiting may be enough to convince Newey that they’re the right team to continue his journey in Formula 1 with.
Martin Whitmarsh’s exit from Aston Martin could be a boost in their pursuit of Newey, while the arrival of Bob Bell at Aston Martin is a very exciting hire.
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