Toto Wolff has revealed the conversations he and James Allison had as Mercedes weighed up whether to bid for Adrian Newey’s services.
Newey, currently Red Bull’s chief technical officer, will leave the Milton Keynes-based squad to join Aston Martin in early 2025, having made the decision to leave Red Bull after almost two decades.
Toto Wolff: Every team gave Adrian Newey a thought
Confirmation that Adrian Newey would leave Red Bull came on May 1st, with the 65-year-old initially indicating his intention was to take a breather from F1 after almost 40 years at the forefront of motorsport between his F1 career and his preceding years in IndyCar.
But it quickly became clear that several teams were interested in tempting Newey to continue in F1, with Ferrari and Aston Martin emerging as frontrunners from an early point.
Aston Martin would go on to win the battle for his signature as Lawrence Stroll’s investment into building brand new facilities played a key role in coaxing Newey to continue – as did a huge salary.
Newey’s former F1 teams McLaren and Williams were also included the speculation, but Mercedes – despite their location being nearby in Brackley – never appeared a serious contender for Newey.
With Mercedes boasting a technical director of similar pedigree and status to Newey in James Allison, the British engineer’s return to day-to-day involvement in the F1 team’s development after a few years as chief technical officer has resulted in a big uptick in their competitiveness.
Mercedes had attempted to bring about a succession plan for the technical director role by appointing Mike Elliott in 2021 as Allison became CTO, but the team’s lack of competitiveness in 2022 and ’23 resulted in the positions being swapped back before Elliott’s complete departure last year.
Given the immediate results yielded by Allison’s return, it’s perhaps understandable that Mercedes would choose to stay loyal to the structure currently in place, as Toto Wolff revealed he and Allison had discussed whether or not to bid for Newey’s services.
“Every team gave it a thought,” Wolff said after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“James and I discussed it, collaborated about it, and then came to the conclusion that the structure we have today is the one that we have faith in and that we want to continue [with].
“Having said that, both of us have great respect for Newey, but we passed on that one because we believe in our team at this stage.”
More on Adrian Newey and Aston Martin
Toto Wolff: Aston Martin becoming a package to be reckoned with
The arrival of Newey at Aston Martin is the latest in a long line of good news stories emerging from the Silverstone-based squad.
Alongside its brand new factory and wind tunnel, landing an exclusive Honda power supply deal from F1 2026, Lawrence Stroll has also secured some other big-name signatures – including former Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile, who will work under Newey as chief technical officer, and former Mercedes power unit director Andy Cowell as group chief technical officer.
The path Aston Martin is on has given the team the ingredients to succeed, believes Wolff, who is welcoming the possibility of another squad joining in the fight for titles.
“I think the track record that Adrian has in Formula 1 speaks for itself,” he said.
“He is a great designer – the greatest designer in Formula 1 when you look at the stats and, if you combine it with someone like Andy Cowell, who is, for me, one of the strongest leaders I’ve ever met in any industry, they can make that work.
“I think it’s a package to be reckoned with.
“But it’s good – the more teams who are competitive at the front… you look at the race today, from a fan standpoint.
“I wish we would have played there in the front, but it was marvellous – I think four drivers now are there fighting for the Driver’s World Championship as it stands, and McLaren has taken the lead in the Constructors’ today. Who would have ever thought that like five months ago?
“So if a team like Aston Martin, with this great name, can be part of the leading group, it would be fantastic.”
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