Lewis Hamilton downplayed his disappointment at Adrian Newey’s decision not to join him at Ferrari next year.
Early this year Hamilton said Newey “would absolutely be on top” of the list of people he wants to work with. Hamilton hoped Ferrari, who tried on three previous occasions to sign Newey, would finally succeed in luring him to Maranello.However Aston Martin announced on Tuesday the star designer will join them in 2025 following an 18-year stint at Red Bull.
Speaking for the first time since the announcement, Hamilton said “I think anyone would want to work with Adrian and it would have been nice, but it’s just one person.”
Aston Martin also recently signed Ferrari’s technical director Enrico Cardile, who will join the team next year. However Hamilton’s future team mate Charles Leclerc remains confident in their potential.
“I’m not disappointed,” he told Sky, “I would be disappointed if we didn’t try or didn’t speak with Adrian. We spoke with Adrian as a team and at the end he made his choice and I completely respect the choice of Adrian of going somewhere else.
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“In Ferrari we have always valued the group more than one individual. Of course Adrian Newey is Adrian Newey and he’s incredible for everything he has achieved. But we have incredible individuals in Ferrari and I believe a lot more in the group and I’m sure that we have the right team in order to come back at the top.
Leclerc believes one factor in Newey’s decision to join Aston Martin was the presence of Fernando Alonso .
“I respect Adrian’s decision and he will be working alongside one of his favourite drivers, which is Fernando, and I wish him the best,” he said. “But I hope that Ferrari will come out on top.”
Newey announced his decision to leave Red Bull in May. Max Verstappen said the fact he had chosen Aston Martin shows its owner Lawrence Stroll is committed to making the team a success.
“I’m happy for Adrian,” he said. “I quickly spoke to him.
“It’s just different challenges. When you have been with a team for a long time, I can also see that yeah, maybe for him, definitely a new challenge. I know that Lawrence is pushing flat-out to make it a success and of course I hope for them that it can be a success.”
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Esploratore (@esploratore1)
12th September 2024, 21:03
Mmm, for verstappen I guess it’s actually good news that newey went to aston martin: the car is further behind than ferrari and will take more work to bring it at the top, plus 1 of the drivers would be capable of losing even with a dominant car, and alonso, as good as he is, is reaching an age where inevitably he’s not going to be as fast as he was in his prime (generally decline starts at 35 and increases more rapidly since 40, I’m already impressed by his 2023 season, this considered).
MacLeod (@macleod)
13th September 2024, 8:02
Then you could understand Alonso was a very very good driver in his ‘younger’ times if he still perform such high level.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
13th September 2024, 8:29
Hamilton drove better in 2020/21 than he did in 2014-16.
His peak of 2018 will never be passed (that feat of getting the Merc over the line that arguably was matched by Vettel’s Ferrari is one of the most impressive WDC wins of all time) but he was 35/36 in those seasons.
At times, when he’s had the pace / set up etc Alonso has looked better in recent seasons that at any time since 2006.
In all sport, good professionals are keeping near their peak for far longer.
I’d back both those two to beat Max, if they had exactly the same car (but wouldn’t put any money on it!!)
Riccard
13th September 2024, 11:17
Verstappen best Hamilton in 2021 in an inferior car, and has got better since, so I’d back him to do it again if their cars were equal.
Alonso is more of an unknown quantity. At his best he was fearsome – I would love to see peak Fernando vs peak Max – but I don’t think he hits that mark consistently anymore. In a handful of races, Stroll has kept up with him.
Perhaps a championship-worthy car would light the fires of battle one last time.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
13th September 2024, 12:13
@banbrorace Hamilton had good highs in 2021, but also some really bad moments, including uncharacteristic errors like at Imola, which he wouldn’t do in the 2014-2019 period.
Dane
13th September 2024, 10:06
Plus, Aston Martin or any of the team’s previous incarnations have never been in a title fight. As McLaren are demonstrating now there’s a thousand ways to blow a championship even when you have the best car.
Nick T.
13th September 2024, 0:04
Super excited about Newey to AM, but I’m already sick of the topic over all. lol
Let’s talk about something that hasn’t gotten any coverage lately like McLaren team orders, whether Lance Stroll is the greatest driver in F1 history or what’s driving RBR’s performance slump!