Aston Martin set to sign F1 design guru Adrian Newey in lucrative deal

The legendary designer is leaving Red Bull after 19 years and was linked with a move to Ferrari

Adrian Newey is set to join Aston Martin F1 team next year in a £20m-a-year deal after leaving Red Bull.

The legendary designer, who announced his departure from Red Bull earlier this year after 19 years with the world champions, looks set to join Aston in March 2025. Aston Martin have announced a press conference next week when they are expected to confirm the 65-year-old’s arrival ahead of the next race in Azerbaijan.

The likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Williams all made enquiries for Newey’s services but team owner Lawrence Stroll’s vision to turn Aston Martin into F1 world champions has persuaded Newey to join the outfit decked in royal green. Newey received a tour of Aston’s new state-of-the-art factory in Silverstone in June.

It is reported that Newey will receive an annual salary of £19.8m ($26m) and will become a shareholder of Aston Martin as part of the lucrative contract.

Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton has previously expressed an interest in working with Newey but the Scuderia’s interest in the designer cooled in recent months, with the team unwilling to get into a bidding war with Aston.

Newey decided to leave Red Bull in May, with the fallout from the investigation into Christian Horner’s conduct and the subsequent power struggle at Red Bull a factor in his decision.

The design guru will now play a pivotal role in Aston Martin’s car ahead of new regulations in 2026, with drivers Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion, and Lance Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence, hoping to benefit from the Brit’s experience and expertise.

Max Verstappen has also been linked with a move to Aston Martin in 2026, having capitalised on Newey’s knowledge of ground-effect cars with world titles in the last three years. The Dutchman also leads this year’s world championship by 62 points with eight races to go.

Newey has won 12 drivers’ championships and 13 constructors’ titles during a 30-plus year career in Formula 1, working for Williams and McLaren, in addition to Red Bull.

Adrian Newey announced he would leave Red Bull in May (David Davies/PA) (PA Wire)

Newey revealed to the Beyond the Grid podcast last year that Ferrari have offered him a role three times, with a move in 1993 the most tempting.

“[Ferrari approached] me in my IndyCar days, which probably doesn’t count, then ’93 and famously in 2014,” he said. “The ’93 one was very tempting.”

However, Newey detailed that the breakdown of his first marriage – affected by his time in the United States with IndyCar – meant he opted against making a move to Maranello, Ferrari’s HQ in Italy, due to his second marriage.

Lewis Hamilton had expressed an interest in working with Newey at Ferrari next year (AP)

Another advance in 2014, Newey admitted, was due to Red Bull’s engine issues at the start of Mercedes’ hybrid-era dominance.

“My discussions in 2013 with Ferrari were purely out of frustration,” Newey said. “I really didn’t want to leave but we were in this position where Renault hadn’t produced a competitive turbo hybrid engine.

“We went to see Carlos Ghosn [ex-Renault CEO] to try and put pressure on him to up the budget. Ghosn’s reply was, ‘Well I have no interest in Formula 1. I’m only in it because my marketing people say I should be’. That was such a depressing place to be.”

Asked if he regretted turning down Ferrari, Newey responded: “Emotionally, I guess, to a point. Yes. But just as, for instance, working with Fernando and Lewis would have been fabulous. But it never happened. It’s just circumstance sometimes, that’s the way it is.”