Ferrari admit they failed in bid to poach key Red Bull figure
Vice chairman Piero Ferrari, the son of legendary founder Enzo, has revealed the Italian outfit unsuccessfully attempted to lure Newey to F1’s most famous team.
Newey turned down offers from former Ferrari boss Jean Todt and chairman Luca di Montezemolo between 1999 and 2004 because he didn’t want to move from his home in England.
“He said no to Montezemolo and to Jean Todt,” Ferrari told Italian publication Autosprint.
“Apparently, he doesn’t want to move - he likes to stay in England.
“And apart from that, his undisputed skills aside, he doesn’t do it alone. He has very good people around him.”
After enjoying great success at Williams and McLaren in the 1990s, Newey signed for Red Bull in 2006.
Newey, who is regarded as one of the best minds in F1, has been a key figure in Red Bull’s transformation from minnows to multiple world champions.
His car designs helped Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel claim a total of eight world championships between 2010 and 2013.
Red Bull are currently enjoying another period of dominance and appear on course to wrap up their second consecutive constructors’ world title, while Max Verstappen is favourite to seal a third drivers’ crown on the bounce.
Newey’s latest offering - the RB19 - has won all five races so far this season, with Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez recording four one-twos.
Red Bull’s chief technical officer reportedly turned down an offer from Mercedes to commit his future to the Milton Keynes squad by putting pen to paper on a long-term contract extension.
The deal was confirmed by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner at the recent Miami Grand Prix.
