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

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Flavio Briatore has sent Alpine a warning over the possibility of signing Adrian Newey amid claims the Red Bull designer is considering joining their Formula 1 team in 2025.

It has almost been four months since Red Bull announced that Newey had decided to leave Milton Keynes. He was one of the earliest senior figures to join their team in February 2006. But the internal fight for power this year convinced the Briton it is time for a new challenge.

Near enough every team up and down the paddock has sought to speak with Newey about joining once the 65-year-old is allowed to leave Red Bull in the first quarter of 2025. Ferrari were seen as Newey’s most likely destination for ages too, before Aston Martin led the mix.

Flavio Briatore warns Alpine that signing Adrian Newey is no guarantee of success

Once the expected move to Ferrari fell through, Aston Martin offered Newey an £80m, four-year contract. But no pen has yet hit paper after Alpine’s offer turned Newey’s head. Special adviser Briatore is looking to improve the Renault-owned outfit after his own return in June.

Reports from F1-Insider claim Briatore and Groupe Renault CEO Luca de Meo have promised Newey the moon to leave Red Bull for Alpine. They believe he is the man to turn Alpine into a successful Formula 1 team again and would afford Newey freedoms to make key decisions.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Alpine’s F1 executive adviser Flavio Briatore

Having the freedom in all areas to design Alpine’s car how he sees fit flattered Newey, so he is considering their advances. But Briatore warns Alpine that while the team have the funds for big-name signings and De Meo’s support, it is no guarantee they will become successful.

Briatore outlined, via quotes by RacingNews365: “We have the finance, we have the support from the chairman and we have a big group behind us.

“If something happens and it is a good possibility, sure we will do it, but only if it is good for the team because in the end, it is not an ego trip. If we take this engineer or that engineer, one man is not changing the team – we have good examples of that.

“When people buy everything, buy the future to win and buy whatever they want, we have plenty of people who buy, buy, buy but the result is not really proportional to what you buy.”

Adrian Newey has been the most in-demand man in Formula 1

Newey has arguably been the most in-demand man in the Formula 1 paddock since Red Bull confirmed his departure. Alpine have also reportedly offered him the moon to reject joining Aston Martin as Newey has created 12 constructors’ and 13 drivers’ title-winning cars in F1.

But Briatore will seemingly not go to the same extremes financially as Aston Martin could to convince Newey to join Alpine. Instead, the Renault-owned outfit may have to hope that the offer of complete freedom of their plans ahead of F1’s 2026 rule changes is enticing enough.