What Ferrari privately said to Adrian Newey after he turned them down to join Aston Martin

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Ferrari were strongly linked with Adrian Newey after he announced that he was leaving Red Bull. But in the end, they lost out to Aston Martin.

For months, the Scuderia seemed like the favourites. Newey had come close to joining Ferrari three times before, and it looked like the allure of the Prancing Horse would finally win him over.

But Aston Martin ultimately presented a stronger offer, one that gave Newey shares in the team as managing technical partner. He started work at the team in March and has been exclusively devoted to their 2026 car.

Ferrari’s chassis will now be designed chiefly by Loic Serra, their technical director chassis. Former Mercedes man Serra takes over from Enrico Cardile, who has joined Newey at Aston Martin.

Ferrari told Adrian Newey he’d regret joining Aston Martin

According to a report from FUnoAnalisiTecnica, Ferrari are confident they can succeed without Newey under the new regulations. The 66-year-old has won championships with three different teams (Williams, McLaren and Red Bull) across several different eras.

But Ferrari are ‘convinced’ that the combination of Newey and Aston Martin will be beatable in the sport’s new era. In fact, they even told the Briton he would ‘regret’ accepting Lawrence Stroll’s proposal once he lost out to the Scuderia.

• READ MORE: Ferrari insider shares how close he got to signing ‘genius’ Adrian Newey and why he never joined

That’s a striking level of confidence for a team who are under new technical leadership. Newey was the headline acquisition in a star-studded engineering recruitment drive from Stroll, who also picked up Cardile and former Mercedes engine boss Andy Cowell.

Aston Martin will effectively be the Honda works team as the only team powered by the Japanese manufacturer. With two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in their ranks too, they certainly look like a dark horse for next year.

Fernando Alonso reveals what Adrian Newey did at his first Aston Martin race

Newey believes F1 could be an engine formula under the new rules. That might mean that the aerodynamic battle is of secondary importance in determining the pecking order.

But Ferrari have lost two of their top power unit engineers to Audi in recent months. While they have been replaced, the personnel turnover naturally creates uncertainty.

Over at Aston Martin, Alonso has noted Newey’s ‘self-confidence’, something he’s ‘never seen’ from a designer. Engine formula or otherwise, he believes he can make the difference.

At his very first race weekend in Monaco, Newey watched on from the garage without ‘talking to many people’. He began ‘thinking and tinkering’, but his influence on the team won’t be obvious until next year.