Lewis Hamilton says outgoing Red Bull designer Adrian Newey would be ‘top of the list’ of Formula 1 figures he would wish to work with in future.
The Mercedes driver, who will join Ferrari next season, has never raced with a team Newey was actively working for over his 18 seasons in Formula 1.After news that Newey would be leaving Red Bull at the end of the season broke this week, Hamilton said he would “very much” like to work with the famed designer at Ferrari if he could.
“If I was to do a list of people I would love to work with, he would absolutely be on top of it,” he said.
“Adrian’s got such a great history, track record. He’s obviously just done an amazing job through his career in engaging with teams and the knowledge that he has. I think he would be an amazing addition.
“They’ve already got a great team, they’re already making huge progress and strides forwards – their car’s quicker this year. But it’d be a privilege to work with him.”
Although Hamilton admitted that he had found racing against Newey-designed cars for most of his career “a massive challenge”, he noted Red Bull’s success was down to more than just one member of the technical team.
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“Just from my perspective, when I joined McLaren, I think it was an evolution of his car,” Hamilton said. “I think I got there just after he left. So that car would have evolved from a concept that he had worked on so I felt privileged that I’d had the chance to touch something that he had worked on.
“So you can imagine 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.”
Hamilton has gone 50 rounds without winning a race as Red Bull have increasingly dominated the championship. Mercedes have brought some new parts for their W15 in Miami but Hamilton is unlikely to be in contention for victory.
“We’ve got a small upgrade here this weekend,” he explained. “So excited to see developments coming through and I think hopefully we have a car in a bit of a better working window.
“No doubt it will still be a challenge, but I’m really excited to be here in the States. The weather’s incredible, it’s going to be a challenge for temperatures and tyre deg and all that sort of stuff, but we welcome it.”
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Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
2nd May 2024, 21:41
A Newey-Ferrari, with Lewis at the wheel, is certainly be something to think about :)
Asd
2nd May 2024, 22:09
A Newey-Aston, with Alonso at the wheel, is certainly sth better to think about ;)
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
2nd May 2024, 22:46
touché :)
G
3rd May 2024, 12:50
What about Leclerc? My money would be on him out qualifying Lewis for the majority of races. This will lead to a lot of awkward moments for Ferrari if Lewis has the race pace to close up on his teammate.
Nick T.
3rd May 2024, 15:29
I really hope he doesn’t go anywhere. He’s been the man behind more lopsided championships than anyone else in history. The other dream team capable of beating Newey is long gone. It’ll be fantastic for F1 for him to be gone.
To see him gift Lewis another dominant car while Sainz drops to Sauber and Alonso continues to drive second rate machinery would leave a very bad taste.
Kerry Maxwell (@kerrymaxwell)
3rd May 2024, 17:26
I remember when F1 was about the pinnacle of technical development. I realize those days are long gone, but I haven’t taken to actively rooting for one of the greatest aerodynamicists in the sport to retire. A rising aero tide lifts all boats.
Nick T.
3rd May 2024, 18:58
It doesn’t though. It lifts one boat. This isn’t technology for humanity and it never has been.
An Sionnach
2nd May 2024, 21:46
The man’s got an eye for talent…
Nick T.
3rd May 2024, 15:23
lol. An amazing development driver too!
Saying “I really want to work with Newey” is literally no different than saying “I’d love to be in the fastest car.” It’s borderline ridiculous.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
2nd May 2024, 22:33
Well isn’t it obvious?
MCG (@malrg)
3rd May 2024, 2:49
And if this happens, Ferrari will start winning because Lewis is such a great driver right? Just like Verstappen is winning now because he is such a great driver…going to love the Hami’ fans on this one.
SteveR (@stever)
3rd May 2024, 5:32
I think every driver in F1 would make the exact same comment. This is worth a post? And to move it to the top of the posts? Come on, click bait.
ppzzus (@ppzzus)
3rd May 2024, 6:37
watch the clip, the smirk says it all
baasbas
3rd May 2024, 16:50
@ppzzus
I was fairly sure he’d end up at Aston Martin but the smirk is making me doubt
Tristan
3rd May 2024, 5:52
I’d like to see it, just to see if it doesn’t work… Hamilton couldn’t really complain about the car then, could he? Would he?
Scott Doggy
3rd May 2024, 13:02
Yeah, nice to see the usual crowd who watch Hamilton more than any other driver on the grid have arrived.
Never seen a sport where so many people watch just to hate on a single driver instead of just supporting another driver.
Scott Doggy
3rd May 2024, 13:04
See the people who are supporting Leclerc over Hamilton? That’s how you do it. If you going to hate on a competitor at least have it be because you clearly support a rival of his.
Its boring when its just constant hate….
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
3rd May 2024, 6:48
Ahah, why am I not surprised? Would be interesting if leclerc beat hamilton though, I really felt like watching him at ferrari in 2019, that leclerc was already hamilton\verstappen level at the time, though I haven’t been as impressed in recent times, especially by not beating sainz convincingly.
MichaelN
3rd May 2024, 9:47
Hamilton is impressively positive about everything. Good for him.
For all the dullness the actual racing has produced, this season has so far been pretty solid for the off-track stories; Newey a free agent, who’d have thought! It’ll be interesting to see where he ends up. I wouldn’t be surprised if he retires for real this time, but there has to be more than mere speculation to the stories. It seems the vibe in the paddock is that some teams are definitely trying to get him on board; with Aston Martin and Ferrari apparently being the big players in this game.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
3rd May 2024, 11:51
MichaelN,
It seems unlikely he’ll join Aston. Stroll Sr appears to be boosting the team’s worth to attract US investors keen on long position. It will be puzzling if someone like Newey wouldn’t anticipate this. Newey’s already bought a sailing boat currently located Montecarlo and certainly plans to enjoy it. Back in 2014, Ferrari even proposed flying him from Monaco to Maranello daily, sparing him the need to relocate !
Ferrari can offer Newey a prestigious super consultant role à la Byrne who btw still works 3 months a year at Ferrari. He is often seen enjoying pasta in the famous Montana restaurant. Newey would become the primary technical advisor within the Gestione Sportiva, shaping overall design direction. Moreover, he could pursue additional projects of interest, such as the 24H LeMans Hypercar program, designing Ferrari’s next supercar and its first ever sailing Yacht.
It really depends on Newey’s plans but if he really wants to continue even part time, there is no better place for him currently than Ferrari.
BlasterMaster
3rd May 2024, 19:12
So, Newey to Ferrari is a done deal.
Pjotr (@pietkoster)
3rd May 2024, 21:15
Hmm, Ferrari has their own plan.
Newey’s best plan is retire, get on that boat and have fun. Just keep playing with that RB supercar as a hobby.