Aston Martin boss addresses Adrian Newey negotiation claim

Aston Martin’s Mike Krack responded to claims that the team are in talks to recruit Adrian Newey.

Newey visited the Silverstone HQ and negotiated a salary with owner Lawrence Stroll, The Telegraph reported this week.

Team principal Krack was put on the spot and asked if Newey is bound for Aston Martin.

Krack told Sky Sports: “Honestly, when you see how many names have been linked to our project, and you see how old the project is, it is a credit to Lawrence’s vision, to Honda and Aramaco, and all the partners that we have.

“It will be interesting how this goes on.

“But, it gives credibility to the project.

“A couple of years ago if you linked these names to our team, nobody would have taken it seriously.

“So, we are very flattered by that.

“It shows the project is credible.”

Krack was asked to confirm if Aston Martin are in talks with Newey.

“No. You said it before - rumours are rumours,” he responded.

“A lot of people are talking about Aston Martin. That is a good thing.

“We’ll see how this goes.”

Red Bull’s chief technical officer will depart in early-2025.

It means he can have a major say in another team’s first car under the new regulations from 2026.

The hope is that tech genius Newey could give a major advantage to a team aiming to be the dominant force under the regulations.

Aston Martin must 'learn' from Mercedes

For now, Aston Martin’s on-track progress from early-2023 has stalled, while Mercedes have overtaken them.

“Interesting parallels, we started the season off similarly to them,” Krack said after practice was topped by Lewis Hamilton at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix.

“They use similar tools to us. It’s something to learn for us.

“Lately, we have had a better understanding of our car.”

Krack downplayed the chances of his drivers Fernando Alonso or Lance Stroll this weekend in Barcelona.

“We are realistic. Coming here, we knew this would be one of the more difficult tracks for us,” he said.

“Because of what the track needs and how the car is.

“The same applies for next week. We know that.

“We’ve seen that if conditions are right, or you get it right with good calls when others don’t make good calls, you can bring points home.”