Ferrari were initially the favourites to sign Adrian Newey when he resigned from his role at Red Bull. It seemed like Fred Vasseur was about to construct a superteam.
With the sport’s most successful driver, Lewis Hamilton, joining Charles Leclerc, one of the fastest drivers of his generation, Vasseur already had perhaps the best driver line-up on the grid. And he appeared to be closing in on the most celebrated designer ever.
Newey has won championships with three different teams – McLaren, Williams and Red Bull – across several generations of F1 cars. Signing him would arguably have made Ferrari the favourites for the start of the sport’s new era in 2026.
But after four months of speculation following his May resignation, Newey joined Aston Martin instead last September. Lawrence Stroll lured him to his ambitious project with the stakeholding role of managing technical partner.
Newey’s impact won’t truly be visible until next year given that he only started work in March. But Ferrari are already regretting their failure to sign him.
Ferrari still licking their ‘wound’ after Adrian Newey turned them down in 2024
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Loic Serra has so far been regarded as a disappointment. Chassis technical director Serra joined the team from Mercedes, where he worked with Hamilton, last autumn.
Ferrari won five races and scored a grid-high 22 podiums last year, finishing just 14 points behind McLaren in the battle for the constructors’. In 2025, they haven’t come close to winning a race, and they’re already almost 200 points adrift of the reigning champions.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
362 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
165 |
| 3 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
159 |
| 4 |
Red Bull Racing |
144 |
Hamilton is already urging Ferrari to prioritise 2026 and give up any lingering hopes of a resurgence this year. They could make gains by shifting resources early, but equally, persisting with the SF-25 for too long could have lasting repercussions.
The report notes that the ‘wound’ of Newey’s rejection ‘still seems to be burning’ for Ferrari. They would be far more optimistic about next year if he was on board.
Newey seemed ‘very close’ to joining the Italian marquee but walked away from the negotiations when Aston Martin made a more favourable offer. Ferrari will still be wondering how exactly they let one of the highest-rated engineers in the sport slip through their fingers.
Fernando Alonso has just told Ferrari exactly what they’re missing
Newey has ‘thrown himself’ into studying the 2026 regulations at Aston Martin. With no short-term obligations, he has the unique luxury of time to find one of his famous loopholes.
Reports suggest that Newey has already carried out a ‘brutal’ reset at his new team. It’s unclear whether he would have been granted so much power at Maranello.
Indeed, Bernie Collins has questioned Ferrari’s decision-making style, suggesting that team members are always concerned about the views of their superiors. The internal politics at the Scuderia are infamous.
Fernando Alonso says Newey has already raised standards at Aston Martin by forcing colleagues to make more valuable contributions in team meetings. Perhaps that’s exactly the kind of cultural shift that’s needed at Ferrari.
