Photos of Red Bull mastermind Adrian Newey on the grid at the Miami Grand Prix have got tongues wagging.
The engineering, aerodynamics genius dropped a bomb on his world champion team when he confirmed last week he is leaving.
Newey, widely regarded as the greatest F1 designer and a chief architect of Red Bull’s dominance, is set to end his stay in the “first quarter” of next year, according to a Red Bull statement.
Every practice, qualifying session and race from the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
The announcement has sparked a bidding war for Newey’s services, with Ferrari, soon to be joined by Lewis Hamilton, in pole position to sign him.
The rumours about Ferrari’s interest in Newey were further inflamed when Hamilton made public comments saying he would “very much” like Newey to be alongside him when he leaves Mercedes to join Ferrari next year.
Newey was on Sunday spotted shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with Ferrari vice-chairman Piero Ferrari.
Their meeting came after Newey was seen inspecting Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari SF-24 as it was parked on the grid.
Newey regularly inspects the cars of rival teams, but the sight of him taking particular interest in Leclerc’s vehicle has raised eyebrows.
The veteran chief technical officer is a free agent in 2025 and is arguably the most sought-after signature in the sport right now.
With major rule changes coming to Formula 1 in 2026, Newey’s potential move to Ferrari would be the start of a new era in car design.
Hamilton was quizzed ahead of this weekend’s Miami GP about working with Newey and said: “Adrian has such a great history and track record.
“He’s done an amazing job through his career, engaging with teams and the knowledge he has. I think he would be an amazing addition.
“I think they [Ferrari] already have a great team, making huge strides forward and progress. Their car is quicker this year. But it would be a privilege to work with him.”
Hamilton was grilled if an attempt to sign Newey was part of his wishlist when he started negotiating with Ferrari.
He added: “This is all private conversation stuff. If I was to do a list of people I would love to work with, he would absolutely be at the top of it.
“When I joined McLaren I think it was an evolution of his car. I got there just after he left, so that car would have evolved from a concept that he had worked on.
“I felt privileged that I had the chance to touch something that he had worked on.
“Racing against the team that he’s been so heavily a part of has been a massive challenge but I think we have to remember there are a lot of people in the background.
“It’s not one person, it’s a whole team of people who do the job. You can imagine all the amazing experience that he brings to the team, but the people that he works with will continue to do an amazing job.
“I don’t anticipate Red Bull not continuing to build great cars moving forward. But any team would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him.”
Newey has also worked with championship-winning teams at Williams and McLaren in his long career.
It was reported Newey became unsettled after Red Bull boss Christian Horner was accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour by a female employee.
The team principal was cleared in February of wrongdoing by an internal investigation carried out by Red Bull’s parent company before the employee was then suspended.
Last year, Max Verstappen and Red Bull produced the most dominant season in F1 history, with the Dutchman winning 19 of the 22 races and the team all but one.
This season they have won four of the first five races.