Williams Formula 1 boss James Vowles believes the less political environment within the team could entice Adrian Newey to return once his Red Bull stint concludes.
Following rumours, Red Bull announced earlier this week that it accepted Newey’s request to depart the team, with an exit scheduled for the opening quarter of 2025.
The Briton, who is F1’s most successful designer with 25 titles to his name, has been linked with both Aston Martin and Ferrari since speculation emerged last week.
However, Vowles confirmed in Miami that he has held tentative conversations with Newey over a possible reunion at Williams, where he worked from 1991 until 1995.
Amid Newey’s desire to pursue “new challenges”, Vowles thinks helping to haul Williams back to the sharp end in F1 could be the sort of proposition that interests him.
“It was a light conversation, more than anything, saying it can’t have been an easy decision and fundamentally wanting just to have an additional chat about things,” he said.
“From a Williams perspective, obviously that’s where Adrian really cut his teeth for the first time.
“I think we’re a team without politics that’s a small team that’s trying to make our way back to the front.
“I think it could fit very perfectly for someone that wants to potentially dig into a challenge like that.
“More than that, what is great about Williams is it’s retained the family feel to it. We’re not driven by an OEM. We’re driven by just a group of individuals that want to be there and it’s all about really racing. Hopefully some of that plays to his strengths.
“Then finally, with Adrian, you have someone with his accolade, with his touch. It’s not a team he hasn’t been to.
“It’s a clan of ourselves, Red Bull, where he hasn’t made a significant difference and I think anyone here would be foolish not to at least open some conversation with him at that stage.”
Ferrari has been reported as Newey’s most probable destination should he elect to continue in the sport, with a ‘Super Consultant’ position touted as a feasible option.
Meanwhile, an approach from Aston Martin and a lucrative proposal from billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll last month is rumoured to not be one Newey is entertaining.
Speaking in Miami, Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack would not be drawn on the Silverstone-based squad’s pursuit, instead praising his current technical group.
“I think the record and the history speaks for itself,” Krack said. “If someone like that is leaving a team, it’s always causing say the turmoil that it is creating.
“I think we speak about nothing else about the last two weeks in the media, which is good, because we speak about Formula 1.
“But then, yeah, I already confirmed a couple of weeks ago. I think it was a clear answer, but nobody really took it seriously.
“So, we are quite happy with our technical team and we continue with them.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes that Newey’s departure could trigger an exodus at Red Bull and tempered speculation that it could target his prestigious services.
“As far as McLaren’s concerned, I’m very happy with all the work the men and women at McLaren are doing,” Brown commented.
“I think we’ve started to show since last year, second half of last year, that they know how to put performance on the car.
“So I’ve got all the faith in the world with the team that we have.
“We’re on a quest to get back to the front, and I think we have the people, the talent, the equipment, the drivers to get there, so we’re going to just stay the course.”
