F1 design legend Adrian Newey has reportedly been offered a staggering €100m (£84m) over a four-year period to join Aston Martin.
That is according to German publication F1-Insider, who report Aston Martin are currently the favourites to sign Newey, who is the most coveted individual in the F1 paddock after his decision to depart Red Bull.
However, Ferrari are “not yet completely off the table” in the race to land Newey’s services despite negative reports from Italian media, F1-Insider claims.
The 65-year-old will leave Red Bull in early 2025 after two almost decades at the team, having played an instrumental role in all of their 13 world championship wins.
Newey, regarded as the greatest F1 driver in history, has found himself linked to various teams, including Ferrari, Aston Martin, McLaren and Williams, in the months since the news dropped ahead of the Miami Grand Prix in May.
The outgoing Red Bull chief technical officer is expected to join another F1 team and has confirmed he will make a decision on his future by the end of the year.
“I have to admit, I don’t read the press very much, but of course I hear [things]. Amanda, my wife, kind of follows it and gives me a rough update, so yes, it’s very flattering, of course,” Newey is quoted by F1.
“Ultimately, it’s not why I do the job. From the age of 10 or 11 I always wanted to be a designer in motor racing, and I’ve managed to achieve that, so everything else is a bonus really.
“My passion has always been trying to add performance to cars, to race cars, so the rest is, of course, part of it, but it’s not what wakes me up and motivates me.”
Ferrari had been considered as Newey’s most likely destination due to him previously admitting he harbours regrets about never working for F1’s most famous team, but Aston Martin appeared to have moved ahead recently.
Italian newsletter Gazzetta dello Sport reported contract negations between Newey and Ferrari hit a stumbling block over an apparent request to bring key engineers with him, something the Scuderia have denied to Crash.net.
Ferrari did not comment on whether or not they are in talks to recruit Newey.
