Adrian Newey snubbed Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari for Aston Martin – here’s why

The legendary Red Bull designer will join Aston Martin on a lucrative £20m-a-year contract next year despite advances made by Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Alpine in recent months

When Adrian Newey stunned the Formula One paddock by announcing his departure from the all-conquering Red Bull in May, there seemed only one appropriate destination for the legendary designer’s swansong. Sky F1 broadcaster Martin Brundle hinted as much when he asked Newey in Miami: “Do you look good in red?!”

Now we know the answer: not good enough, it seems. What will be Ferrari’s loss, however, will be Aston Martin’s gain. Executive chairman Lawrence Stroll has long made it clear his ambitions to elevate his team into world championship frontrunners and with today’s signing of F1’s most-revered design guru – as a company shareholder on a lucrative £20m-a-year deal, running over five years – the Canadian billionaire has made his biggest statement yet.

“As soon as Adrian became available, we knew we had to make it happen,” Stroll said. “Our initial conversations confirmed there was a shared desire to collaborate in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We mean business – and so does he.”

For Ferrari, who have now tried and failed to sign Newey four times over 30 years, it is a snub they will be keen to disregard. Their performance, following Charles Leclerc’s victory in Monza, appears on the up anyhow. But for Lewis Hamilton, who joins next year from Mercedes in one final attempt for a record-breaking eighth world title, it is unequivocally a blow.

Ferrari were keen not to become embroiled in a bidding war for Newey and, given the 65-year-old will be the fifth-highest paid man in the sport now behind only Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Hamilton, that is understandable. But the designer’s wealth of expertise and experience is somewhat invaluable.

As Stroll said at Tuesday’s swanky announcement in their new £200m state-of-the-art Silverstone facility, it is a “bargain” in his mind. Newey has proven that much over a career which has brought 13 drivers’ titles and 12 constructors’ championships, curating title-winning cars by pencil at Williams and McLaren prior to Red Bull.

His standout ingenuity and knowledge when it comes to this era of cars has been particularly stark. He wrote a thesis during his degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Southampton University on ground-effect aerodynamics. This new set of regulations played right into his hands, so much so that last year he was the lead architect behind the RB19: statistically the most dominant car in F1’s 74-year history. Red Bull won 21 out of 22 races.

His influence on the world championship, at times more so than the drivers in the cockpit, is unquestionable. But why not one final tilt at Ferrari, the sport’s most prestigious team? Why Aston Martin, currently the fifth-quickest team on the grid?

First and foremost, there are the basics. At £20m-a-year – which could rise to nearly £30m with bonuses – the salary is unprecedented for a designer or mechanic. He also becomes a shareholder in his unique title of managing technical partner. A five-year contract length also gives Newey time to bring success to a team predominantly focused on fresh engine and chassis regulations in 2026.

New F1 rules? There is nothing that Newey likes digging his teeth, or pencil, into more.

Design great Adrian Newey has joined Aston Martin in a stunning £20m-a-year deal (PA Media)

Newey has never worked with Lewis Hamilton and turned down the chance to join Ferrari next year (Getty Images)

“The 2026 rules are an opportunity, they’re a reset for everybody,” Newey said on Tuesday. “When I said I’d be departing the old team [Red Bull], I was very flattered to have a lot of approaches from various teams.

“But Lawrence’s passion and enthusiasm is very endearing and persuasive. And to have the chance to be a shareholder and partner hasn’t been offered to me before. It became a very natural choice.”

Team owner Stroll, whose son Lance is one of the team’s drivers alongside two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, has invested heavily in Aston Martin’s F1 project and is the key cog behind Newey’s arrival. In fact, he has been courting the British design guru for a few years, with the pair regularly running into each other during gym sessions at races in the Middle East.

The team Stroll took over in 2018 as Force India – then Racing Point and now Aston Martin – have a new wind tunnel alongside their HQ which will be operational by the end of the year. He has secured Honda as the team’s engine partner from 2026, with the Japanese manufacturer having worked alongside Newey during Max Verstappen’s run of titles at Red Bull.

Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll embraces Newey at Tuesday’s announcement (Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)

Adrian Newey will leave Christian Horner’s Red Bull team at the start of 2025 (Getty Images)

Newey will see familiar faces around the factory, too. Dan Fallows, who worked as an aerodynamicist under Newey at Red Bull between 2006 and 2021, joined Aston Martin as technical director in 2022. He will also work with ex-Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell, who joins as CEO next month, and Ferrari’s former chassis technical director Enrico Cardile. All are respected names in their field.

Aston are now billing themselves as “F1’s team of the future”, such is the levels of investment in their personnel and facilities. The ambition is clear and something Newey, who had approaches from former teams Williams and McLaren too as well as a late bid from Alpine, simply couldn’t turn down.

“I was very flattered by the number of teams who did approach me and I had discussions with some of those teams,” Newey revealed. “I decided to stop at Red Bull over the Suzuka weekend [in April]. I genuinely had no idea what would be next. But come late June… I felt that to be involved as a designer in motor racing, over 90% of my career has been hugely enjoyable.

“What’s the pinnacle of man and machine? It’s clearly Formula 1. I want to stay at the pinnacle for as long as people want me.”

Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso will work with Newey for the first time (Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)

It shouldn’t be underestimated the role Newey’s wife, Amanda, played too in his decision. Newey regularly referenced her influence in Tuesday’s press conference and, as opposed to uprooting their lives to Maranello in Italy with a move to Ferrari, staying UK-based was always the preferable option.

From 2 March 2025, when Newey officially starts his new role, it will be fascinating to see the trajectory Aston take and how quickly Newey’s visionary instincts take hold on the car. Next season is the final year of the current phase of regulations, with 2026 providing teams with a fresh start. Alonso, 43 years young, has already signed a contract until the end of that season, keen to experience the first car Newey will really carve out in his own image.

Further ahead, there are said to be ambitions to bring Verstappen to the team. The Dutchman is unsettled at Red Bull as a result of the power struggle at play – brought into focus by the controversy surrounding Christian Horner at the start of the season – and the fractious relationship between his dad, Jos, and the team principal.

Could a reunion with Newey be on the cards, whether that be replacing Alonso or alongside him? Put it this way: Stroll Snr. is very unlikely to sack his own son.

Regardless, what today’s announcement shows is that it is not all about the drivers in this sport. In what is a crowded field of leading contenders in F1, the dial has shifted towards Aston with the signing of Newey – the sport’s leading mind. And should he carve out more success and championships with his fifth and likely final team, it will only add more gloss to a legacy already unmatched in the history of Formula 1.