The shrewd Scuderia racing director is said to have met for contract discussions with technical genius Adrian Newey, who caused a quake with his early termination from the world champion team Red Bull before the sixth round of the season on Sunday (10 p.m. / ORF 1, Sky).
Vasseur has already surprised the premier class by signing record champion Lewis Hamilton for next season; a deal with Newey would be the Frenchman’s masterpiece. Such a change from probably the best racing car designer in the history of Formula 1 would fulfill several goals. Industry leader Red Bull might lose one of the guarantors of its title series with Sebastian Vettel and currently Max Verstappen to its closest rival. Ferrari would not only score a PR coup, but also increase its appeal for other top personnel. And possibly also gain pole position for the major rule reform in 2026.
Highly lucrative offer
Amid the overwhelming dominance of Red Bull and Max Verstappen, who has already won four of the first five races of the season, such prospects warm the hearts of Ferrari fans. During a conversation in London, team boss Vasseur continued courting Newey, Italian media report. There was already talk of a highly lucrative offer when rumors regarding Newey’s departure intensified.
What is crucial here is that the 65-year-old will be allowed to leave Red Bull at the beginning of 2025 well before his actually agreed contract expiry and will then probably no longer have to comply with a blocking period. Newey might still influence the development of the completely new car in time for 2026, the year of the major regulatory change with more climate-friendly engines and new vehicle concepts.
“Leonardo da Vinci of aerodynamics”
The “Gazzetta dello Sport”, which is close to Ferrari, has long been longing for the “Leonardo da Vinci of aerodynamics” and is dreaming of series of triumphs like those of Michael Schumacher. According to the industry, Newey has already rejected the parallel advances of the Aston Martin team around billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll.
The super tinkerer has proven his magic several times, especially in times of major rule changes. His designs for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull were the basis for 13 driver titles and 12 team world championships. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner praised Newey in the farewell announcement for “his extraordinary ability to think beyond Formula 1, his remarkable talent for facing change and focusing on the most promising areas of the rules, and his unconditional will to win.” .
“I believe that this will be the beginning of a new era for Red Bull”
But because the relationship between Horner and Newey has cooled down significantly recently, the Red Bull empire is in danger of faltering. “I believe that this will be the beginning of a new era for Red Bull and that he is not the last to go,” said Sky expert Ralf Schumacher to the German Press Agency. The former racing driver now expects Red Bull to recruit more top engineers. “If that were to happen, I believe that the team might slip into mediocrity with the new rules for the 2026 season at the latest,” said the 48-year-old. Max Verstappen’s father Jos also takes these prophecies of doom seriously. “The team is in danger of falling apart. I was already afraid of that at the beginning of the year,” the former Formula 1 driver told the “Telegraaf”.
Red Bull still owns the sporting present. Triple world champion Max Verstappen should also win the third guest appearance in Miami and continue his rush to the next title. But a new Ferrari super team might end the Verstappen era by 2026 at the latest.
