Lewis Hamilton has told Miami that the signing of Adrian Newey for Ferrari would be “incredible” if it could happen as all speculation suggests.
Newey confirmed all the rumors by announcing his departure from Red Bull at the start of 2025, also reducing his notice period regarding F1 to this year as he will no longer have a role in it. In exchange, he will have to concentrate on finalizing Red Bull’s Hypercar project, the RB17.
Newey, considered F1’s greatest designer, will be free to join a team from April 2025. According to the latest information from the paddock, he has already had a meeting with a Ferrari representative last week and with Frédéric Vasseur , passing through London this Tuesday.
If Newey joins the Scuderia, he would work with Hamilton, who has signed a multi-year contract to join Ferrari from 2025.
“Adrian has a tremendous history and track record. He’s obviously done an incredible job throughout his career and committed to the teams and the knowledge that he has. I think he would be a tremendous addition,” Hamilton said.
“Ferrari already has a great team. They are already making huge progress, their car is faster this year. It would be a privilege to work with Adrian, it would be incredible.”
When asked how much he would like to see Newey join Ferrari, Hamilton added simply and concisely: “Very much !”
Hamilton was then asked if he had spoken to Ferrari about the possibility of Newey actually coming. The seven-time world champion responded with a smile: “These are just private conversations, but if I had to make a list of people I would like to work with, he would absolutely be at the top of the list.”
Newey had left McLaren shortly before Hamilton’s arrival in 2007. Hamilton missed out on the title by one point in his first year, only to win it 12 months later.
“When I joined McLaren, I think it was an evolution of his car. This car had evolved from a concept that he had worked on. So I felt privileged to have had the chance to drive with an F1 car he had worked on.”
Hamilton doesn’t expect the gap to suddenly close between Red Bull and the rest.
“We just have to remember that there are a lot of people in the background and there’s not one key person. It’s not one person that makes a team or team strong. ‘a car is a whole team of people doing the work so you can imagine that among all the incredible knowledge he has brought to his team, the people he works with will continue to do incredible work because. They are also this knowledge. I expect Red Bull to continue building great F1 cars in the future.
