Outgoing Red Bull Chief Technical Officier Adrian Newey has disclosed that this winter is the latest he wants to make a decision on his next destination in Formula 1.
Red Bull confirmed two months ago that Newey had communicated his desire to bring a curtain down on his almost two-decade involvement with the F1 champions.
Newey has been linked with a long-awaited move over to Ferrari and rumours have been touted that a verbal agreement on a ‘Super Consultant’ role has been agreed.
However, Aston Martin is known to be courting Newey’s prized signature and reports have been abound that he received a private tour at its Silverstone headquarters.
When asked to provide an update, Newey told Sky Sports F1 that he was still undecided on his next switch amid speculation Aston Martin wants an answer this week.
“I don’t know,” Newey answered. “At the moment I’m just kind of still working on the RB17 [Red Bull hypercar], and then just taking some time off.
“Last week, we took seven days and lucky timing on the weather obviously, and went around the South Coast with our dogs in an old Aston Martin DB6 and that was great fun.”
Aston Martin boss Mike Krack has been tightlipped over Newey bolstering its ranks, admitting he was “flattered” the team was being named “in the hunt with Ferrari”.
Meanwhile, Lance Stroll, who is owner Lawrence’s son, expressed that it would be “f**king awesome” to see as Newey is someone all teams “would love” to acquire.
“He’s the GOAT,” he said. “I mean, he’s got more championships than anyone in this paddock so he’s someone that everyone would love to have in their team colours.”
Aston Martin emerged as Red Bull’s closest challenger in the nascent rounds last season, but the side’s competitiveness slipped as the development race intensified.
The Silverstone-based squad’s plight has continued this term as updates to its AMR24 have not delivered the expected gains and made the car more difficult to drive.
But Aston Martin is continuing apace behind the scenes to transform into a title challenger and has announced ex-Mercedes boss Andy Cowell as CEO from October.
Furthermore, reports in the Italian media have claimed Lawrence Stroll has been successful in his bid to sign Ferrari Technical Director Enrico Cardile to Aston Martin.
