Left-field F1 switch suggested for Adrian Newey amid links to Red Bull’s rivals

Damon Hill has suggested that legendary F1 car designer Adrian Newey could rejoin McLaren if he decides to leave Red Bull.

Newey’s future has been the subject of speculation in recent weeks, with Red Bull’s chief technical officer linked with several of their rivals, including Ferrari.

Last month it was reported that Aston Martin had approached the 65-year-old with a “big-money” contract offer to try and tempt him away from Red Bull.

Newey has now been tipped to potentially return to McLaren, where he worked from 1997 until joining Red Bull in 2005.

“I just wonder, what would happen if Adrian [Newey] was looking around and was thinking about McLaren as a team to go to,” 1996 world champion Hill said on Sky Sports F1.

“They’ve already shown that they’re going in the right direction, they’re definitely a team on the make.”

Newey won both world championships with McLaren with the first car he designed for the British squad in 1998, while its predecessor took Mika Hakkinen to the world championship in 1999.

McLaren have enjoyed an impressive start to the season with Lando Norris turning in a brilliant drive to finish second to Max Verstappen in the Chinese Grand Prix and split the Red Bull drivers.

The Woking-based outfit are third in the constructors’ championship and 55 points behind Ferrari.

It comes after they spent much of the second half of 2023 as Red Bull’s nearest challengers.

But Newey’s success at Red Bull is showing no signs of stopping this year, with the team already well on course to clinch both world championships for a third consecutive season.

Speaking about his ongoing F1 involvement amid the swirling speculation in a recent interview with RacingNews365, Newey said: “I enjoy [it].

“Ever since I was 10 or so, certainly by 12, I wanted to be a designer – I don’t think I knew the word ‘engineer’ – in motor racing, and ideally, Formula 1.

“That’s what I [put] all my teenage years towards. I managed to get that first job in motor racing when I graduated.

“I’ve hugely enjoyed it, and I continue to enjoy it.

“So I think as long as I continue to enjoy it and the team wants me then I’ll continue to do it for the moment and then we’ll have to see in the future.

“I don’t tend to plan too far forward.”