Ferrari opens door to Newey: 'Guarantee of victories'

The news that Adrian Newey plans to leave Red Bull Racing has sent shockwaves through Formula 1. Competing teams are hoping to lure the master designer to their team, no doubt for a significant fee. In Italy, the newspapers have been packed with every bit of news about Newey for days, as Ferrari hopes - naturally - that the Briton will move to Maranello.

Riccardo Patrese, who won the 1991 Mexico City Grand Prix with a Newey-designed Williams, argues in the Gazzetta dello Sport that Ferrari should do all it can to contract Newey. "Absolutely, because he is the king of engineers," praises the Italian. "If Adrian comes, we will win."

Like Ivan Capelli earlier in the week, Patrese does wonder if Newey does indeed feel like moving to Italy at the age of 65. "I know him very well, we are friends. During my years at Williams, we built an excellent relationship. And I know he is happy at home, he loves being in England."

So for now, the hope Patrese - and probably many Italian motorsport fans - have is to see Newey in Ferrari's red. "I don't know either. I read the papers and see that he is leaving Red Bull and possibly coming to Ferrari. I would be very happy about it, because then I would see him more often. And besides: where he appears, there is winning," Patrese concludes.