Ferrari warned about poaching Adrian Newey to solve their problems

Henry Valantine
Adrian Newey arrives at the track. Barcelona, May 2022.

Red Bull's Adrian Newey arrives at the track for the Spanish Grand Prix. Barcelona, May 2022.

Former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi has warned the Scuderia that trying to poach Adrian Newey from Red Bull would not be an immediate fix to their current issues.

Red Bull’s chief technology officer oversaw the development of last season’s dominant RB18 machine, the latest in a long line of title-winning cars he has designed in his career, and his signature would undoubtedly be one of the most sought-after in the whole Formula 1 paddock for teams looking for a way to the front of the field.

But if the likes of Ferrari were looking to take on the former Williams and McLaren designer, Alesi warned that the amount of time it would take to bring him through the door at Maranello would mean his impact would not be felt at the team for years to come yet.

The Frenchman believes new team principal Fred Vasseur is the correct person to help bring Ferrari forward, but the days of the team being able to hire the likes of Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne behind the scenes, as was the case ahead of the dominant era of Michael Schumacher, are behind them – such is the way the sport operates now.

“It will take time,” Alesi told Les Fous du Volant on Eurosport in France, as per Grandpx.news, “but Fred Vasseur is the right choice.”

“That is no longer possible in Formula 1,” Alesi added of a 90s-style recruitment drive repeating itself at the Scuderia.

“Today, if Adrian Newey decided to go to Ferrari, we wouldn’t see his car until 2025 because of the clauses in all the contracts.

“So it will take time, but I repeat that Fred Vasseur is the right person for this job.”

PlanetF1.com recommends

Daniel Ricciardo to Haas? Guenther Steiner gives update on latest speculation

Michael Schumacher: German publication blasted for publishing fake interview

F1 rumours: The only F1 team that could facilitate Honda’s official F1 2026 return

Ferrari have suffered a difficult start to the season by their high standards, coming away without any points at all in Australia after Carlos Sainz was dropped out of the top 10 following his late penalty.

Given the task facing Vasseur as team principal, Alesi believes three elements need to be prioritised at the Scuderia for what lies ahead: “reliability, performance, stability.”

“He has to put these three things in the order he wants, but that’s what has to be done.”

Sainz and Charles Leclerc have failed to make much of a mark on proceedings at the front of the field so far in 2023, with three races under their belts and no podium between them to speak of yet.

But despite questions over whether or not one driver should be favoured over the other and establish a clear hierarchy among the pair, as was the case at the team in years gone by, Alesi does not think that is the main issue that needs addressing at Maranello at the moment.

“If at the next grand prix, they said ‘Charles, you are the first driver and Carlos is the second’, it would not help in the process to develop the car, especially the lack of performance and reliability,” Alesi explained.

“That’s not the problem, frankly.”