Ferrari did not sign Adrian Newey to avoid matching Aston Martin: Reports

Ferrari's possible signing of Adrian Newey didn't go ahead as the Italian crew did not want to match the offer by Aston Martin, according to reports. The latter is expected to announce Newey's signing prior to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

After spending almost two decades with the team, Red Bull announced earlier this season that Newey will be leaving the crew in 2025. Newey's innovations and creativity with aerodynamics have been largely credited for RBR's two stints of domination (in early 2010s and 2022-23). He is also sometimes referred to as the "Aero Wizard" of the grid because of his excellence in understanding and designing cars.

It was apparent that all the teams on the grid made their attempts to sign Newey. However, it was understood that Ferrari would be signing him with a huge offer. They had tried to sign Newey in 2014 as well. But it was recently reported that Aston Martin has made an offer that the 65-year-old accepted. He is now expected to be announced with the team before the next race in Azerbaijan.

A report from Motorsport.com claims that Ferrari did not sign Newey since they did not want to get into a "bidding war" with Aston Martin. The report claims that the Scuderia was not willing to auction over Newey's services, and wants to work better with their current crew instead.

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Ferrari team principal addresses failure to sign Adrian Newey, draws comparison with European football club (PSG)

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur recently discussed the Adrian Newey deal. Speaking to Corriere Della Serra, he explained that simply signing the best people on the grid might not lead a team to success. According to him, a crew is not a "sum of talents," but a careful combination of people. To support his explanation further, he talked about the lack of success PSG faced despite having the best players from multiple football leagues.

"I've always said that the group comes first," Vasseur said. "This applies to engineers, drivers and anyone. It's not the sum of talents that generates performance but a right combination of factors. PSG has always taken the best, yet has never won the Champions League. We, on the other hand, are on the right track." (translated from Italian)

Aston Martin's performance peaked in the 2023 F1 season. Fernando Alonso managed to put himself on the podium multiple times throughout the season, however, their peak seemed to fade as other teams developed. They have only managed to score 74 points in the current season so far, a huge drop considering their performance last season.

The team also signed Ferrari's Enrico Cardile earlier this season. He will work as their Chief Technical Officer from 2025.