Frederic Vasseur and Co. Counter Lawrence Stroll’s $100 Million Offer to Poach Adrian Newey

“Lewis is anything but happy about the fact that he is no longer the best-earning driver in Formula 1. That is now Max Verstappen. At least he could change that with Ferrari’s help,” said Helmut Marko after Hamilton’s decision to move to Maranello. The driver’s salary is not just based on their skills and appetite for danger but also signifies how highly they’re valued compared to other drivers. But what about engineers, especially ones like Adrian Newey? 

Leo Turrini recently suggested that Adrian Newey is the Lionel Messi of F1, in a way that every team wants him. So what better way to lure him in and pay as much as an F1 driver? Adrian Newey’s Red Bull exit rumors have been going around for a while. They started soon after the Christian Horner investigation began. And now, it’s believed that Newey has formally expressed his will to leave to Red Bull’s senior management. 

Ferrari has been trying for over 20 years to sign the mastermind but has failed in their ambitions. They tried last year as well but Newey signed an extension with Red Bull. And now, the Scuderia are back again to lure Newey, after signing Lewis Hamilton already earlier this year. However, Lawrence Stroll isn’t one who’s going to let go of the opportunity to sign Newey and has reportedly offered the Briton $100 Million to join Aston Martin. 

Not only the $100 Million, Newey would not have to shift countries, can continue living his current lifestyle, and can communicate easily with the people at Aston Martin, who all speak English, unlike at Ferrari’s Maranello factory. However Frederic Vasseur is a hard nut to crack, and we’ve seen how his determination led to Hamilton finally moving to Ferrari despite having a Mercedes contract in hand.

According to Formu1a.uno, Ferrari is ready to offer Newey a 50% raise over his current salary, which was reported to be close to $13 million in 2020, but is believed to be much higher. Not only that, he’ll be provided the freedom to operate in whatever way he likes. However, there is one condition, which is that Newey has to join the Italian Stable within the next 12 months so that Ferrari can take maximum advantage of the new 2026 regulations. But as explained by an F1 pundit, that might not be possible.

F1 Pundit explains Adrian Newey’s complex Red Bull contract situation 

Christian Horner in recent times has been vocal about how Pierre Wache and other Red Bull team members have contributed greatly towards the RB20 design and how Adrian Newey’s influence isn’t as big as it was. Some rumors even suggest that Newey had zero influence on the car. Regardless, Red Bull wouldn’t want someone of Adrian Newey’s caliber to move to another team, even if his influence isn’t much within the team. His current contract at Red Bull runs until the end of 2025, and considering the gardening leave, it wouldn’t be until 2027 that Newey will be able to join another team. 

Craig Slater explained Adrian Newey’s complex contract situation after contacting people at Red Bull he said, “His contractual situation is that he has contracted at Red Bull Racing until the end of 2025, and as I understand it would have to serve another year of gardening leave where Red Bull to holds him to the full extent of his contract which would mean he would not be able to work for another Formula 1 team until 2027.”

What do you make of Adrian Newey’s situation? What will be the course of action for the man who can see air?