Hamilton: Newey is number one person I want to work with in F1
Ahead of Hamilton’s arrival at Maranello next year, and in the wake of Newey’s decision to leave Red Bull, Ferrari is known to be pursuing the design genius to come on board and help create a superteam.
If its overtures are successful, then it would be a massive boost to Hamilton’s future title hopes, after he agreed a deal last winter to join the Italian outfit from 2025.
Newey will become a free agent next March, which is still early enough for him to have an influence on the crucial new-rules-era cars that are coming for 2026.
Speaking ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton said he would be “very” excited to work with Newey, as he steered clear of revealing details on whether a bid to land him had been part of the negotiations he had with Ferrari last winter.
“I mean, this is all private conversation stuff,” said Hamilton. “[But] if I was to do a list of people that I’d love to work with, he would absolutely be at the top of it.”
Hamilton added it was clear that Ferrari was making great strides in F1 right now, and any success it had in getting Newey would only further help its progress to the front of the field.
“Adrian…he’s got such a great history, track record,” added Hamilton. “He has obviously just done an amazing job through his career and engaging with teams, and the knowledge that he has, and I think he would be an amazing addition.
“I think they’ve already got a great team. They’re already making huge progress, strides forwards, and their car is quicker this year. It would be a privilege to work with him.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Hamilton and Newey have never worked together in F1 before, and the closest that came to happening was McLaren – which the British driver joined in 2007 shortly after its technical chief had left for Red Bull.
“When I joined McLaren, I think it was an evolution of his car,” added Hamilton. “I think I got there just after he left, so that car will have evolved from a concept that he had worked on. I felt privileged that I’d had the chance to touch something that he had worked on.”
While some have suggested that Newey’s departure from Red Bull will be a big blow to the squad over the next few years, Hamilton is not so sure.
“We just always need to remember that there’s a lot of people in the background, and there is not one key person,” he said. “It is not one person.
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“It’s a whole team of people who do the job. So, you can imagine, of all the amazing experience that he brings to the team, the people that he works with will continue to do an amazing job.
“I don’t anticipate Red Bull not continuing to build great cars moving forwards. But any team would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him.”