F1 Today | Mercedes send offer to Newey and a budget cap update

Newey offered a 'lucrative' deal

Since the news came out that Adrian Newely will be leaving Red Bull at the end of 2024, helping out with their Hypercr project for the rest of the season after moving away from F1 operations already, his signature has been the most sought after. Ferrari have been the team heavily linked to the British car designer for him to start work in 2025, but another team have thrown their hat into the ring, according to F1-Insider.

According to the German medium, it is Mercedes that have offered a huge contract to Newey, adding their name to the ever-growing list of teams interested in his services. There are also rumours that team shares have been offered to persuade the Brit to work for the German team.

'No deadline' for Sauber to find a second driver

There are still a lot of questions that are unanswered regarding the driver lineup for the 2025 season. One of the biggest questions is regarding Sauber, especially with them changing to Audi in 2026. With that in mind, Audi brought in German Nico Hulkenberg to drive for Sauber in 2025. But who will join the former Haas driver at Sauber?

A decision will not come quickly, according to team boss Alessandro Alunni Bravi, saying "there is not a deadline". Carlos Sainz has been a name linked with Audi for a long time, but those rumours have grown quieter. However, they will have to keep looking, as Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou are looking at options elsewhere.

Will there be changes to the budget cap?

The budget cap level is likely to be changed for the 2026 season, with the proposal of the budget moving to $215 or $220 million a year for F1 teams on the grid. Will this be the case? There is no official word on it, but Christian Horner has spoken about the potential change.

Of course, Red Bull have had their issues surrounding the budget cap after they were found to have breached spending rules during the 2021 season, the season where Max Verstappen earned his first World Championship. Horner says if the newly adjusted cap can "find a good balance", then he can see it being a "very productive and sensible discussion" with the potential change.