Adrian Newey rejected ‘late big money’ offer from Aston Martin rivals

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Adrian Newey’s future in Formula 1 has finally been put to bed after months of speculation about his next destination on the grid.

After announcing he would be departing Red Bull following his key contribution to two eras of dominance in the sport, Aston Martin will benefit from his presence from the beginning of March next year.

However, it isn’t a secret that Adrian Newey had plenty of potential suitors in the paddock once teams knew he was available.

His manager Eddie Jordan admitted Newey had proposals from nearly every team on the grid such is his importance to success in F1.

Newey had been annoyed by Christian Horner’s efforts to downplay his role in Red Bull’s recent success and that’s unlucky to happen at Aston Martin given they’ve yet to win a race since joining the sport.

He joins the team as managing technical partner, a role that not only gives him oversight over some of the brightest minds in Formula 1 but highlights that he’s also got shares in the team and added skin in the game to make sure his latest project is a success.

However, writing on the Formula 1 website, journalist Lawrence Barretto has shared just how desperate some of Aston Martin’s rivals were to hire Newey.

Ferrari walked away from negotiations with Newey after realising they didn’t want to get into a bidding war with Stroll.

However, it was the late efforts of Alpine that would have worried the Silverstone-based team.

Flavio Briatore arrived on the scene midway through the season and quickly realised what the French team needed to improve their poor start to the campaign.

Alpine made ‘late big money’ offer to Adrian Newey before Aston Martin move

Talking about how his move to Aston Martin happened, Barretto said: “Aside from Stroll, Newey is set to be the most powerful and influential person in the company.

“He has the world’s best resources at his disposal and a team of highly talented individuals and, critically, the autonomy to be creative so he can do whatever it takes to make this team world champions.

“But he’s not taking it lightly. He’ll be in the building every day – though he hasn’t yet picked the room that’ll house that famous drawing board – when he kicks off work on 1 March and will be fully focused on Formula 1.

“At least for the foreseeable future, there’ll be no distractions from other projects – like hypercars or the Americas’ Cup – and nor does he want them because Stroll has offered Newey the ultimate project.

READ MORE: Flavio Briatore issues Adrian Newey warning amid Alpine’s offer to Red Bull chief

“And that’s why Newey couldn’t say no, a late big money bid from Alpine coming too late.

“Once he decided, along with his wife Amanda, that he would put off retirement and sailing around the world on his yacht for a little longer because he craved another F1 project, it quickly became clear Aston Martin offered him the next step in his career and the right project.”

Alpine in a state of flux as a power unit deal with Renault is on the line

It’s easy to see why Newey would choose a move to Aston Martin over Alpine.

He’ll once again be working with Dan Fallows who shared in his success at Red Bull and their upcoming exclusive partnership with Honda is very important as well.

The chance for Newey to design a car for Fernando Alonso will also have played a role having admitted in 2023 he’d always dreamt of working alongside the Spaniard.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

That’s not meant as a slight on Pierre Gasly – who Newey worked with at Red Bull – or incoming rookie Jack Doohan.

However, Alpine are considering the negative consequences of ditching their Renault power unit in favour of becoming a customer team.

Luca de Meo has said that options are on the table although Mercedes look like their most obvious choice.

That lack of clarity wouldn’t have filled Newey with confidence and Alpine will need to look elsewhere to find the technical lead that can lift them back to the top of the midfield.