Newey has shown interest in working with Hamilton: 'Would be fabulous'

The rumours are continuing to grow: Adrian Newey is set to leave Red Bull Racing, and potentially make a move to Ferrari. Newey has expressed in the past his desire to work with Lewis Hamilton, who will be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025. The top designer is also intrigued by Fernando Alonso who will be with Aston Martin and Honda in 2026.

During his career, Adrian Newey has had the opportunity to work with top drivers, including Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Jacques Villeneuve, Sebastian Vettel, and most recently, world champion Max Verstappen. Legends like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are missing from his long list. 

Newey previously expressed this as a shame: "Working with Fernando and Lewis would have been fabulous. But it never happened. It's just circumstances sometimes, and that's the way it is," Newey said on the Beyond the Grid podcast in September 2023.

Could Newey work with Hamilton in the future?

With Hamilton making the move to Ferrari next season and the speculation around Newey also moving to the Italian team growing, this partnership could soon become a reality. Speaking in 2022, Hamilton shared his praise for the Red Bull Racing Chief Technical Officer. 

"They're an amazing team and have done a phenomenal job. Adrian Newey doesn't generally build bad cars. My first championship car (in 2007) was an evolution of his car," Hamilton was quoted by the Daily Express. 

Newey's success at Red Bull

Newey joined the championship winning team in 2006, after leaving McLaren. The team initally struggled, with unreliable cars, until 2010, when Vettel won his first of four consecutive titles. Red Bull's domination ended in 2014, which saw the rise of Mercedes and Hamilton, who went on to win six world championship titles. 

However, in 2021, Max Verstappen brought the team back to their winning standards, after securing the Driver's Championship. Since then, Verstappen has won a further two consecutive titles, with the team also winning the Constructors Championship in both 2022 and 2023. Both the switch from a Renault to Honda engine, and the performance of Verstappen has led the team to dominate the championships once again. 

The team seems to be untouchable. The combination of Newey potentially leaving, alongside the upcoming engine changes in 2026, has left many fans wondering if this could be the end of Red Bull's domination.