Lewis Hamilton faced a setback as legendary designer Adrian Newey opted for his ‘toughest’ competitor instead of joining him at Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of collaborating with Formula 1’s most successful engineer at Ferrari have been dashed.

Adrian Newey, the brilliant designer responsible for 12 Constructors’ Championships and 13 Drivers’ Championships, is set to join Aston Martin starting in the 2025 season.

2

Newey, a legend in the motorsport world, has previously worked with Williams, McLaren, and has been with Red Bull since 2006. He announced his departure from Red Bull in May.

This news comes as a disappointment to seven-time champion Hamilton, who publicly expressed his desire to partner with Newey at Ferrari shortly after the announcement of Newey’s exit.

Hamilton referred to Newey as ‘top of his wish list’ and described the potential collaboration as a ‘privilege’ for both the sport’s most successful driver and its top engineer.

While Newey found the compliments ‘flattering’, he admitted in the past that one of his greatest regrets was not having collaborated with Hamilton or his former rival, Fernando Alonso.

Now, he is set to realize that dream by joining Alonso at Aston Martin next year. The 43-year-old two-time world champion recently extended his contract with the Silverstone-based team until 2026, which coincides with the introduction of new sporting regulations.

This partnership might concern Hamilton, who has previously called Alonso his ‘toughest’ competitor.

Despite a resurgence last season, Aston Martin has struggled to maintain competitiveness in 2024 and currently falls short of the top four teams: Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes.

However, Newey has a proven track record of elevating teams from the back of the grid to championship contenders, as evidenced by his stewardship that led Red Bull to four championships with Sebastian Vettel and three with Max Verstappen.

Initially, it appeared Newey would remain with Red Bull beyond 18 years, as he was engaged in various projects like the Aston Martin Valkyrie and the RB17 production road car.

However, the team faced significant turmoil following allegations of inappropriate behavior against CEO and team principal Christian Horner in February, which the BBC has reported may have affected Newey’s decision to leave.

2

Horner has denied any wrongdoing and was cleared by an internal investigation, but the impact of Newey’s departure is already being felt.

After dominating the 2023 season, Red Bull started the current campaign with Verstappen winning the opening race by a staggering 22 seconds.

Now, with Newey’s responsibilities diminishing leading up to his exit, Red Bull is at risk of losing its Constructors’ Championship lead to McLaren, prompting speculation on a connection between the two developments.

In the meantime, Hamilton is counting on Ferrari to refine their design with different influences before the 2025 season, following his bombshell move from Mercedes announced back in February.

Newey had been linked as a contender to join Ferrari after it was confirmed that Mercedes and McLaren were out of the running.

Nonetheless, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner commented to talkSPORT that he believed a move to Ferrari was unlikely, despite strong speculation.

“It could be that he doesn’t want to work in Italy or that Aston Martin made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Offers like those can come up unexpectedly,” he mentioned in July.

“I’m not certain he has made a decision yet since it’s flattering when multiple teams want you, allowing you to take your time. But personally, I think a move to Ferrari is very unlikely at this time. They already seem to be building a team, and perhaps commitments have been made to others that Newey wouldn’t fit into.”

“I’m not asserting that he definitely won’t go, but I just think it’s improbable.”