Ferrari Ready to Give Adrian Newey a ‘Blank Check’; Bend Backwards to Get Red Bull Legend in Red

After strengthening its driver lineup by signing Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes, Ferrari has reportedly turned its attention to Red Bull Racing. Scuderia is hoping to poach Adrian Newey, the mastermind behind Red Bull’s dominance, to bridge the gap in performance between the two teams. Hamilton, who will switch to Ferrari from 2025, has also shared his thoughts on possibly teaming up with Newey.

Under the guidance of chairman, John Elkann, Ferrari is making bold moves to revitalize its performance and satisfy its passionate fan base. After weakening Mercedes, Elkann is now eyeing star engineer Adrian Newey to bolster Ferrari’s technical prowess. With tensions reportedly rising within Red Bull, Ferrari sees an opportunity to disrupt Red Bull’s winning streak.

Ferrari eyeing four Red Bull engineers

The Gazzetta dello Sport has learned that Ferrari is already eyeing multiple key personnel from Red Bull who are a tier below the top guys like Adrian Newey and Pierre Wache. The Scuderia has its sights set on four pivotal engineers from Red Bull who played key roles in the success of the RB20 car.

Ferrari is hell-bent on securing the services of Adrian Newey, even if they have to write a ‘blank check’ for his financial incentives and give him complete freedom to work the way he wants as reported by FUnoAnalisiTecnica. If he joins Ferrari, it could signal a turning point for the team, potentially leading to their first championship victory since 2008. His exit from Red Bull could spark an exodus.

The first engineer on Ferrari’s radar is Enrico Balbo, head of aerodynamics at Red Bull, whom Ferrari approached during last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. David Morgan, leading the aero trackside performance team, and Ben Waterhouse, head of performance engineering, are also being targeted. Additionally, Alessandro Germani, reputed for his expertise in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), could bring valuable skills to Ferrari’s aerodynamics team and is on their radar.

To add to these key technical figures, Ferrari is looking to capitalize on the chaos at Red Bull due to the ongoing controversy surrounding Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. Lewis Hamilton, who is set to race for them in 2025, also shared his views on Newey possibly joining him at Ferrari next year.

Speaking ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Hamilton said, “I think my move has shown that anything’s possible and it’s going to be a really interesting next six months or so.” Hamilton could be keen to work with a master like Newey, but Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is hopeful of his stay.

Speaking with Motorsport-Total, Marko said, “Newey in Ferrari? I hope not as continuing to be constantly committed to improving and continuing our path of success should guarantee a sufficiently reassuring environment”. Newey has been a key figure in all the years of Red Bull’s rise to Formula One prominence. He helped the team clinch four consecutive titles between 2010 and 2013.

Meanwhile, with a solid foundation for their 2024 car, Ferrari’s team boss Frederic Vasseur feels confident about challenging Red Bull later in the 2024 season.

Frederic Vasseur is confident about the aggressive development rate of the SF-24

Despite Red Bull’s dominating victories in the opening two rounds of the 2024 season, Ferrari remains determined in its pursuit of victory. Team Principal Fred Vasseur acknowledges the challenge ahead but maintains a positive outlook, highlighting the progress Ferrari has made compared to the previous season. Vasseur’s optimism stems from Ferrari’s ability to narrow the performance gap with Red Bull, making upgrades more impactful than before.

He explained, “In quali, they have perhaps two, three tenths on us, and in the race a bit more,” Vasseur was quoted by Autosport. “But it’s difficult to estimate because we don’t know if they were pushing at the max… I think the car today is easier to drive than one year ago. This is a good base for the development, because the car is much easier to read for the drivers, so it is much easier to understand where we have to improve, and in this situation it’s a step forward for us for the overall picture.” Things could get even more exciting for Ferrari, if there Red Bull raid proves to be successful

READ MORE: Gerhard Berger: “Helmut Marko and Adrian Newey Are Leaving and Max Is Going to Mercedes”

Do you think Adrian Newey will jump ship to Ferrari to complete a formidable driver-designer pairing with Lewis Hamilton? Share your insights in the comments down below.