The circus around Adrian Newey: Which rumour is true and which one is not?
General
- Ludo van Denderen
Quietly, Adrian Newey strolled the grid in Monaco. He took a look at his - now - current team Red Bull Racing, paused at Ferrari, took a good look at the Mercedes and continued towards the McLarens. Looking around at and especially talking to teams is what Newey and especially his manager Eddie Jordan are probably doing a lot of at the moment. Reportedly - and remember that words - only Audi and Haas F1 have not approached the Briton for a switch.
Ever since Newey announced his departure from Red Bull, rumours have been buzzing. A small anthology - in chronological order - of media reports: 'Newey goes to Ferrari'. 'Ferrari waives Newey.' 'Newey has signed with Ferrari.' 'Newey is going to sign with Ferrari soon'. 'Newey will decide next week which team he will switch to'.
Are the Italian media only hoping for 'saviour' Newey?
Reportedly - there it is again - Ferrari are indeed the leading candidate to bring in Newey as a kind of super advisor. Or is it the Italian media that are mainly hoping for the master designer to commit to their national pride, Ferrari that is? Every day at least one Italian sports newspaper has an article dedicated to Newey. Newey sells, because he is the man seen as the missing link before the proud Scuderia can celebrate another world title.
In the German media, on the contrary, other voices have been heard in recent days. In them - for example this weekend - we can read that Mercedes (a German team) are really doing everything it can to bring in Newey. Toto Wolff and his fellow shareholders have reportedly even offered Newey to become part owner of the team. It sounds a bit unrealistic for a company worth billions, but who knows?
The only fact surrounding the Newey stories
The only fact is that no one really knows anything. Unlike many colleagues in the paddock, Newey is not the man of extended lines to the press. Instead, the 65-year-old Briton is someone who prefers to stay far away from the newsroom. He gives interviews sporadically and when he does, it is mainly about his work. Newey hardly gives a peep into his private life. Yes, knowing that he likes to go out in his camper van. That's about all.
Thinking logically, Newey will surely be in no hurry to decide on a next step in his already rich career. Teams approaching him now will probably still be interested in six months' time. That's how much confidence there is in probably the best designer F1 has ever known. Until Newey has made a final decision on what he wants to do after Red Bull, the rumours will no doubt keep coming.
Reportedly, Newey is having a good laugh about it.