Fernando Alonso expected ‘press conference’ announcing Adrian Newey at rival F1 team

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Fernando Alonso may well have the chance to work with Adrian Newey next year. Aston Martin are now the firm favourites to sign the former Red Bull designer.

Newey handed in his resignation ahead of the Miami Grand Prix at the start of May. Having successfully negotiated his way out of any gardening leave, he’ll be able to work for a new team in the first quarter of 2025.

Crucially, that gives him time to influence the 2026 car concept. The sport will see some of the largest regulation changes in its recent history in 18 months.

It’s been widely reported that Newey has chosen to join Aston Martin. Lawrence Stroll wants to turn the midfield outfit into championship contenders, and he’ll view this as the key signing.

He’s already extended Alonso’s contract and signed two big-name engineers. Former Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell will act as CEO, while technical director Enrico Cardile arrives from Ferrari.

Newey wants to work with Alonso before he retires, having often designed cars to compete against the Spaniard. He’d be the latest world champion to benefit from the 65-year-old’s expertise after Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Mika Hakkinen, Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell.

Fernando Alonso thought Ferrari were going to announce Adrian Newey at Monaco Grand Prix

Perhaps poking fun at his former team, Alonso recalled that Newey was supposed to be joining Ferrari. In an interview with outlets including Formu1a.uno, he said the rumour was strongest at the Monaco GP at the end of May.

In fact, Alonso anticipated a Ferrari ‘press conference’ confirming the Englishman’s arrival. But it now looks as if they’ve dropped out of the race.

Newey to Ferrari was virtually ‘done’ before a ‘dramatic’ turnaround in the final stages. The team decided they couldn’t accept his demands.

For instance, team principal Fred Vasseur blocked Newey’s request for control over technical personnel. They were wary of giving a consultant too much power within the team.

“In Monaco I woke up and there was supposed to be a press conference to announce his arrival at Ferrari,” Alonso said.

Adrian Newey is bound to ‘clash’ with one staff member at Aston Martin

Ferrari and Aston Martin certainly weren’t the only teams in pursuit. Williams also tried to sign Newey, but the romance of a reunion wasn’t enough to distract from the scale of the task.

A return to McLaren was also floated, but Zak Brown seems to be happy with his current design team. Alpine have made a late offer for Newey, but the consensus remains that he’ll join Aston.

While they’ve now formed a ‘superteam’ behind the scenes, it won’t be easy to reel in the established frontrunners. Newey may be ‘bothered’ by Stroll’s fearsome reputation, and he’s unlikely to show much patience given the amount he’s investing.

There’s also a suspicion that Newey will ‘clash’ with Cardile given the overlap in their roles. Indeed, some Red Bull staff were ‘quite pleased’ to see him go amid dissatisfaction with his working methods.