Adrian Newey to snub Ferrari as Aston Martin and McLaren move ahead?

Adrian Newey is reportedly set to snub a blockbuster F1 switch to Ferrari and instead join either Aston Martin or McLaren.

The legendary F1 designer has “moved away from the Scuderia” and is “selecting offers that came from English teams” because he “prefers to stay in Britain”, according to Motorsport Italy.

Motorsport Italy’s report adds the road to Maranello has “become a very steep climb” and that Aston Martin and McLaren have moved ahead of Ferrari in the race to secure Newey’s services, with the former reportedly “in a leading position at the moment”.

Aston Martin’s interest in luring Newey, who will leave Red Bull in early 2025, is not new. Lawrence Stroll is believed to have approached Newey with a lucrative contract offer in March, with Autosport reporting the British outfit stepped up their bid to sign the 65-year-old by hosting him during a 'secret' visit to their new state-of-the-art factory at Silverstone.

Newey has been heavily-linked with a move to Ferrari, and possible tie-up with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, but Motorsport Italy claim he will now choose between Aston Martin and McLaren, where he previously worked between 1997 and 2005.

The Italian publication reports that after holding early talks with Newey, Ferrari are unwilling to get caught up in a bidding war for his services. They add a final decision is expected from Newey in late September.

This ties in with recent comments made by Newey in an interview with Sky Sports.

When pushed on whether a decision about his future will be made by autumn or winter time, Newey replied: “Yeah, that’s certainly the target. By then I’ll need to have made my mind up.”

Newey’s former classmate Jeremy Clarkson let slip on the grid at last weekend's British Grand Prix that he was “house hunting” in Oxfordshire rather than Italy. 

"Do you want an exclusive? I know Adrian Newey is house-hunting in Oxfordshire, not Maranello,” Clarkson told a Viaplay TV presenter on the grid at Silverstone.