Mike Krack superficially denies an offer to star designer Adrian Newey, but the sources on the subject are clear regardless
Mike Krack, Team Principal of Aston Martin, denies media reports that his racing team has made star designer Adrian Newey an astronomically high offer in financial terms. On closer inspection, however, it becomes clear that Aston Martin wants to steer Newey away from Red Bull
Krack replies in Suzuka with an initially clear “no” to a Sky reporter’s question as to whether Aston Martin had really made Newey an “astronomical offer”. With a grin on his face, however, he leaves open whether his “no” refers to the “astronomical” or to the offer itself.
Because the offer is said to exist, the sources are clear. Even if Krack suggests that they already have “a very strong technical team”, with Dan Fallows (Technical Director), Tom McCullough (Performance Director), Luca Furbatto (Engineering Director) and new addition Bob Bell (Executive Director). “We are happy with what we have,” says Krack.
However, a possible Newey departure in the wake of the affair surrounding team boss Christian Horner is not something that is currently on Max Verstappen’s mind: “I haven’t spoken to Adrian about it yet,” the reigning world champion waves it away. “I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t worry about things like that, I was skiing and didn’t have time to read.”
“Of course it would be nice if everyone in this team stayed together, but if someone wants to leave, sometimes you can’t prevent that,” says Verstappen, adding: “Adrian’s role has changed over the years. But everyone in the team plays an important role in our success.”
He is convinced that people like Newey and Helmut Marko are difficult to replace. Verstappen emphasizes: “Many people contribute to the car being fast. But of course I would prefer Adrian to stay with us. He would also take a lot of knowledge with him to another team.”
Newey is a designer for whom there is a “high demand”, adds Marko. Red Bull’s motorsport consultant says in an interview with the Dutch edition of Motorsport.com, “Newey is the one everyone wants. It wasn’t the first offer he’s received and it won’t be the last.”
In addition to Aston Martin, Ferrari is also said to be interested in Newey, according to Italian media reports. Marko: “Losing him would be a huge disadvantage. Also because it would mean that another team would get him. He would take a lot of knowledge with him, but also his incredible wealth of experience. “
While Marko emphasizes that the technical team at Red Bull is much bigger than Newey. But: “Newey is also a cult figure and therefore very important for the young engineers. They come to the team because they want to work with Newey at least once in their lives. Overall, it is a great advantage to have Adrian with us.”
Verstappen is far less concerned about the fact that his former chief mechanic Lee Stevenson is moving to Sauber: “He hasn’t been my sole chief mechanic since 2020,” explains Verstappen. “I already knew last year that he was going to change and the team adapted well. “