How Michael Schumacher was responsible for Adrian Newey rejecting Ferrari's offer in 1995

Red Bull CTO Adrian Newey claimed that Michael Schumacher was one of the main reasons he rejected Ferrari's offer to join them in the 1995 season, after the tragic passing of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna. The 65-year-old had been working with the Williams F1 team in 1994 and met with then-Ferrari manager Jean Todt to discuss a spot on the Italian team.

In his autobiography How To Build A Car, Adrian Newey talks about meeting with the Frenchman and having mixed feelings about Ferrari's offer. He discusses the prospect of working alongside Michael Schumacher at the time, noting the German's link to Senna's passing at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola in 1994.

Grand Prix of San Marino

He writes:

"To be honest, I had very mixed feelings about that; Schumacher was clearly a fearsome competitor and the best current driver, but Imola and that conversation with Ayrton [Senna], when he was convinced that Michael was using traction control, was still very raw in my mind; I would have found it almost disrespectful to work with Michael so soon afterward.”

Newey never worked with Schumacher in his career and went on to design for the McLaren F1 team, helping Mika Hakkinen win the drivers' championships in 1998 and 1999, racing against Schumacher.

The now-departing Red Bull aero wizard recently stated that he had since regretted never joining the Italian team and working alongside the likes of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in his career as he joined Red Bull after leaving McLaren in 2006.

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Adrian Newey reflects on his 'regret' over never joining Ferrari

Appearing on the Beyond the Grid podcast last year, Adrian Newey said:

"Emotionally, I guess to a point, yes. But just as, for instance, working with Fernando or Lewis would have been fabulous, but it never happened. It's just circumstance, sometimes that's the way it is. My discussions with Ferrari for 2014 were purely out of frustration."

Newey now has the opportunity to join the Prancing Horses as he is leaving Red Bull early next year, after 19 years with the team. With his rumored move to Ferrari, he might fulfill two of his goals that he regretted not achieving - working alongside Lewis Hamilton and designing for the Red team.

It would be fascinating to see if he makes the move to Maranello this late in his career - Adrian Newey has nothing left to prove in the sport, given his credentials from a four-decade-long stint as arguably the greatest designer in F1 history.