Dear F1 fans, Adrian Newey did not go to Aston Martin 'for the money'

So Adrian Newey's move to Aston Martin is now official. The ace designer was a part of the big event organized by Lawrence Stroll, where he announced his prized signing.

Aston Martin is a team that has shown intent and unparalleled dedication to position itself as a future superpower. The fact that Stroll, who has gone after getting the right talent by investing all his energy, convinced Newey should not come as a surprise, even though there was an option of him maybe going to Ferrari as well.

With that being said, what has been very surprising is the discourse that has followed the announcement, where far too many believe that the deciding factor for Newey to Aston Martin was just the dollars that Stroll offered.

Reportedly, Adrian Newey is expected to earn around £20M per annum as a base salary, with the bonus taking the value to £30M. This is for sure an astronomical value, especially if we consider that most of the drivers on the current grid won't be getting paid anything close to this value. While that is the case, and the most likely alternative was Ferrari, the entire argument just does not make sense.

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Ferrari could have given the money as well

It's astonishing to even believe that the reason Ferrari didn't go through contract negotiations was because Adrian Newey was the prized possession of a bidding war. Lest we forget, Lewis Hamilton, the Italian team's biggest signing, is reportedly ($100M) expected to be paid almost as much as the second highest-paid driver in F1 (Max Verstappen, who gets around $40M).

The Italian team has a fat purse and if it did turn into a bidding war and Ferrari was intent on hiring Newey, it's hard to bet against the might of F1's most prestigious team.

To add to this, the current salary that Newey would reportedly draw (£30M including bonuses) is nothing compared to what the brand is willing to shell out for either of its drivers.

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The other alternatives were just not viable enough

There's one thing that a few have found it hard to understand. Ferrari is just not a viable option for someone like Adrian Newey. On the other hand, Aston Martin ticked a lot of boxes for him.

If Newey was taking the plunge to go to Ferrari, he'd have to move to Italy probably. At 65 years of age, that's not the smoothest of things. Then you had the issue of the team being a melting pot of far too much political turmoil.

Newey left Red Bull as soon as the team showed first signs of becoming a political battlefield. This was always going to be one thing that kept him at arm's length from the team.

Aston Martin, on the other hand, has shown far too much conviction overall when it comes to finding the right people and being focused on the right thing. The new facility, signings, overall structure, and the sheer dedication with which Lawrence Stroll has done everything—a team that has arguably shown the biggest intent on the current grid to start winning in F1.

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Adrian Newey has already earned a lot

And finally, the most important part of the equation is that for a man of Adrian Newey's age, experience, and achievements, his motivations aren't money. He was earning more than F1 drivers in his previous contract with Red Bull and is already set for life.

To assume it's only money, that's a false representation or understanding of how some of these elite brains work.