Lewis Hamilton makes Adrian Newey to Ferrari stance clear with shock Red Bull exit sealed

Adrian Newey with Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari badge in small circles

Lewis Hamilton would “very much” like to join forces with Adrian Newey at Ferrari after the shock announcement of his impending Red Bull exit.

It has been confirmed that Red Bull’s design guru Newey, one of the most successful F1 designers of all-time, is set to depart in the early stages of 2025, though his involvement on the F1 side is over already, with his remaining time at Red Bull to be focused on the RB17 hypercar project.

Adrian Newey at ‘top’ of Lewis Hamilton dream colleague list

Whether Newey will link-up with another Formula 1 team in the future remains to be seen, but Hamilton “very much” hopes that Ferrari – a team that has chased Newey’s signature several times before – can seal the deal this time around, as Hamilton prepares to swap Mercedes for Ferrari next year.

Asked by media ahead of the Miami Grand Prix how much he would like Newey to join him at Ferrari, Hamilton replied: “Very much.

“Adrian’s got such a great history, track record and has just done an amazing job through his career in 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. Their car is quicker this year. But yeah, it would be a privilege to work with him.

“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.”

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Considering Red Bull’s record-shattering domination of F1’s ground effect era, there likely is no team on the grid that will not be interested in securing Newey’s services once he becomes a free agent.

So with that in mind, Hamilton was asked whether his current team, Mercedes, could be in the hunt, considering their continued struggles to take the fight to Red Bull?

“I have no idea if they are trying,” Hamilton responded. “I don’t know who is trying. I can’t tell you.”

Hamilton was similarly tight-lipped when pressed on any role Newey’s future may have played in his talks to join Ferrari.

Before the F1 2024 campaign began, Hamilton already agreed a multi-year Ferrari deal, while talk and the ultimate confirmation of Newey’s looming Red Bull departure only started to gather pace in the aftermath of the off-track saga which rocked the team earlier in the season.

“I can’t tell you what was in the discussions,” was the clear response from Hamilton.

Red Bull’s three-time World Champion Max Verstappen heads into the Miami Grand Prix atop the Drivers’ Championship and chasing a fifth win of the season.