Rubens Barrichello just showed Ferrari why they made a mistake not signing Adrian Newey

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Ferrari will be heading into the 2026 Formula 1 season under pressure to perform after failing to win for more than a year.

The onus is on Loic Serra and company to bring a fast car to pre-season testing and ease any signs of tension within the Italian team. Jobs are at risk, and patience is thin at Ferrari.

Meanwhile, their rivals down at Aston Martin are full of optimism. They have prepared well for the 2026 F1 regulations.

Signing Adrian Newey was a significant coup, and it might have set them up for sustained long-term success, depending on whether he can gel with his new teammates.

Aston Martin appointing Adrian Newey as team principal WILL NOT WORK

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Newey is not ‘the right man’ to be Aston Martin’s team principal, according to ex-driver Christian Danner, who thinks his skillsets are better put to use elsewhere.

Aston Martin staff showed Newey ‘instant respect’ when he first got the job as boss, and it’s a sign that it might have been a savvy move by the Silverstone-based outfit.

READ MORE: Aston Martin insider says the team are ‘completely out of control’ as Adrian Newey takes over

Rubens Barrichello’s ‘best driver’ assessment of Adrian Newey shows that Ferrari made a mistake

Charles Leclerc never wants to leave Ferrari, but it could become a genuine possibility if he realises that winning with them isn’t a possibility beyond 2026.

Lewis Hamilton has to improve his qualifying in 2026, but to do that, he’s still going to need a competitive car. To fight for the drivers’ championship, the next project must be fast from the get-go.

Ex-Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello has been raving about Newey, and it shows his former team exactly why they missed out by not signing him when they had the chance in 2024. It could’ve transformed the team.

“What we want to see most is if this improvement from Aston Martin at the end of this year continues into next year,” Barrichello told the Flow Podcast. “Because this guy, the aerodynamicist [Adrian Newey], who left Red Bull to go to Aston Martin.

“This guy is almost the best driver there is, because he’s a guy who has the wisdom and understanding of what the driver needs. So, when he has time to arrive and see that he used to work with a different setup and now he’s doing it, he has time to get used to it.

“But my biggest anxiety regarding Formula 1 is seeing how the Aston Martin car will perform under the new rules with his input.”

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton’s onboard footage revealed a ‘terrible’ problem that Ferrari must fix next season

Why Adrian Newey moving to Ferrari would have been difficult to configure

Ferrari told Newey he’d regret joining Aston Martin when he rejected them last season, but moving to Italy is a massive job.

At the age of 66, learning a new language and adapting to a new environment at the same time was asking a lot of Newey.

Leaving his family behind to chase that opportunity could have been unsettling. Instead, he chose to stay close to home.

Ferrari will get their answer as to whether he was right or wrong as soon as pre-season testing in January. They’ll know almost straight away if they have built a good machine.