Wolff gets pulled apart: 'It's a sad indictment of Toto's management'

F1 News

Wolff gets criticised for not interesting Newey
9 August at 07:00
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  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Adrian Newey is said to have made his mind up: the top designer has decided to accept the offer from Aston Martin. At least, that is what several Italian media, including Autosprint and Corriere dello Sport, are reported. But the fact is, Mercedes have never really been in the picture to sign Adrian Newey after the announcement of his Red Bull departure and Peter Windsor believes this reflects badly on team boss Toto Wolff.

Red Bull Racing, led by Adrian Newey in the technical department, aced the 2022 rules and regulations. Others, including Mercedes, have finally caught up, but Newey's services have become available for the next regulation changes in 2026.

Have Mercedes missed a trick?

Mercedes have an array of technical staff members who have been in the team for many years. Although perhaps not quite as long, McLaren have a similar situation now and Zak Brown highlighted how he was happy with his team members and wasn't going to try to sign Newey. But Windsor highlights the double bonus. 

"It's better to have Adrian [Newey] than not have him. If you have Adrian, he's not working for anyone else, either. It's a double whammy for anyone that gets him," he said on his latest YouTube Livestream before criticising Wolff for not being more vocal.

"I think it's a sad indictment of Toto Wolff's management since 2022 that he's [Newey] not going to Mercedes. He should be going to Mercedes. If Toto had really done the job, he should be hiring Newey now so they could get more championships. That's the most outstanding indictment of this whole thing, that Adrian is not even considering Mercedes from what we gatherer," Windsor concluded.