Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One dream to work with Adrian Newey looks to be dead in the water, with the design guru reportedly Aston Martin bound.
Newey is set to leave his current role with Red Bull in early 2025, bringing an end to his successful two-decade-long stint with the Austrian constructor.
A designer of several championship-winning cars during his career, Newey quickly emerged as a target for several top Formula One constructors, as they look to bridge the gap to the ever-dominant Red Bull.
One of those said to be keen were Ferrari, with the Italians having already penned a deal with one British Formula One ace – Lewis Hamilton.
The seven-time world champion is due to make his much-anticipated switch from Mercedes to Ferrari at the end of the current campaign.
But hopes of Newey joining Hamilton at the Scuderia appear to have been slashed, with reports suggesting Aston Martin are the front-runner to land Newey upon his Red Bull departure.
Hamilton has been outspoken in his admiration of Newey, with the Brit saying earlier this year: “It would be a privilege to work with him If I was to make a list of people I’d want to work with, he would definitely be at the top of it.”
Those sentiments were shared by Newey, who responded to Hamilton’s praise by commenting: “It’s very kind of Lewis [Hamilton] to say that. I’m very flattered, but at the moment it’s just take a little bit of a break and see what happens next.”
What’s more, Newey had also previously gone on record as saying not working for Ferrari was one of the few regrets he’d had in his long and illustrious career.
Speaking in 2013, he said: “Years ago I had the opportunity to go to Ferrari, but I had small children at school [in Britain] and so it was not an easy decision.
“But I think that being part of Ferrari, as an engineer, is the same sort of dream as it is for a driver. Unfortunately it never really came to fruition.”
At 65 years old, should Newey put pen to paper on a deal with Aston Martin, it will all but rule out the chance of not only working at Ferrari but also linking up with Hamilton.
And while the 39-year-old has no intention to walk away from his racing career just yet, it’s difficult to see where Hamilton and Newey’s paths would cross down the line.
