Ferrari have been trying to sign Adrian Newey for 20 years.
Adrian Newey is not a driver, but a top aerodynamic engineer and designer who is far more valuable than any driver could be mainly because his cars dictate who will win the championship. The driver is far less significant and is only part of the team puzzle.
Over the last few days social media has been rife with news that Adrian Newey is leaving Red Bull at the end of this season. I don't think hey are rumors and believe he is leaving which will trigger a mass exodus of engineers leaving Red Bull Formula One.
Formula One has always been about the car first and the driver second yet many focus on the driver and who is going to be driving for each team. Adrian Newey is the stand out brains behind any team he designs for and has proven it when looking at his track record. 12 Constructors titles ad 13 river Championships shows how successful he is.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes dominated Formula One for 7 year which was down to the technology they had via Toto Wolff. Red Bull have benefitted from Adrian Newey and has proven his value because he is a genius when it comes to designing a Formula One car. Teams should be breaking the bank to get Adrian Newey on board with Ferrari reportedly the front runners offering him more than what they pay the drivers.
Max Verstappen earns a reported $55 million per year with Newey on $15 million which if reports are correct will see Newey going to Ferrari earning $60 million per year. The truth is Verstappen and Hamilton or any other Formula One driver are nothing unless they have the best car to highlight their skills.
Newey has transformed every team he has designed for and is the person who makes the difference bringing in the big bucks. The big money in a racing team is made via sponsors especially if you are a winning team which makes the difference of what you can charge for advertising space which is limited.
Back in 2022 Oracle signed a sponsorship deal with Red Bull for $100 million per year and compare that to Ferrari who have their title sponsor with Shell for $40 million per year. If you are not wining races you cannot charge nearly the same as the value is just not there.
If you consider a designer who is a proven winner by bringing success to ay team he joins then $60 million is fair value. Verstappen's salary of $55 million will depreciate unless he is in a championship winning car which we will know will be Ferrari in 2026 once Newey is onboard.
Newey is just that influential around any racing team he is involved with and has proven even when he was recovering from a road bike accident. Newey was absent for 6 weeks and over that period the team did not perform as they had previously when he was around.
Newey has been involved with building and designing his Oyster yacht which will be based on the Amalfi coast which fits in with a move to Italy. This move is not about money and is more about working with a sports car giant. He designed the Aston martin Valkyrie road car and potentially part of his offer will be designing a road car for Ferrari. This would be the biggest attraction that would lure Newey which no other team could offer.
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Be absolutely crazy if he went to Audi instead, and designed WV road cars. That would also be a bit scary, too.
I knew these guys made a lot of money but I had no idea that it was this much. That's crazy!
Newey is worth every cent though and is far more important than any driver could ever be.