Guenther Steiner says Adrian Newey was ‘on his way’ to struggling F1 team

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Adrian Newey seems to be choosing between two teams as he ponders his next move. The legendary designer announced in May that he’d be leaving Red Bull at the end of the season.

The race to sign Newey appears to have come down to Ferrari versus Aston Martin. The Scuderia had been longtime favourites until Aston made a renewed push.

One recent report claimed that the 65-year-old only had to negotiate the final details before signing a contract with Ferrari. But it made clear that he ‘didn’t mind the alternatives’ either.

Newey has visited the Aston Martin factory for a tour, with team owner Lawrence Stroll doing all he can to convince him. He sees the Englishman as a statement signing as he sets about winning the world championship.

The former McLaren man offered an update on his future this week. He’s hoping to make a decision by the autumn before he officially leaves Red Bull in February.

Newey has contributed to a combined 25 championships over the course of his storied career. 13 of those have come during his near two-decade spell at Red Bull.

Guenther Steiner says Adrian Newey looked set to join Williams

Another team that has pursued Newey’s signature is Williams. Newey designed title-winning cars for Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve during his first spell at Grove in the 1990s.

James Vowles publicly stated that he viewed him as a ‘perfect fit’. But it now appears that they’ve fallen out of contention.

Much as there is a prior relationship between Newey and Williams, Vowles’ project may lack the same appeal as that of Ferrari and Aston. His team have scored just two points this year, underlining the reality that they are years away from competing at the front.

For a time, Guenther Steiner believed that they were going to pull off the coup. But speaking on the Red Flags podcast, the former Haas boss says they will now be focused on integrating an array of new technical hires that they announced at the Austrian GP.

“A few weeks ago, Adrian Newey should have gone to Williams,” he said. “He was on his way there. Obviously, these people are now hired. I guess they want to do something.

“This year it didn’t happen. Last year, Williams was doing pretty good. This year, they are not so good. So they decided to hire a lot of people. Now they need to make these people work together.”

Williams also set to lose out on Carlos Sainz

Until recently, Vowles may have been dreaming of pairing Newey with Carlos Sainz. After the highly-rated Alex Albon signed a new contract, that spectacular double signing would have made them a formidable proposition.

But it looks like Williams will lose out on both of their top targets. With Newey more focused on Aston Martin and Ferrari, Sainz is nearing a move to Alpine.

The latter has dealt a particularly cruel blow given that he was about to sign his contract at the Spanish Grand Prix last month. Journalists had been told to prepare for an announcement.

But now Williams had to pivot towards Esteban Ocon and Valtteri Bottas. While neither is as coveted as Sainz, they’re both race-winners in their own right who could form an enviable partnership with Albon.