Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey’s F1 future continues to be a topic of debate, with rumors of him returning to his former team.
The joke comes as 1996 world champion Damon Hill pondered whether McLaren, rather than Aston Martin, might actually be the project that caught Newey’s eye.
Will Adrian Newey be reunited with McLaren?
Despite signing a new contract with Red Bull last year, New York’s New Way comes after reports that billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll has made a “big money” offer to lure him away from the dominant Red Bulls. has recently been linked with a move to the ambitious Aston Martin team. bull team.
Before designing Red Bull’s title-winning car, Newey had done similar work at McLaren and Williams, the team with which Hill won the title in 1996.
And Hill pondered whether Newey could have McLaren, rather than Aston Martin, in mind as he looks to his future in F1. McLaren is a team that has seen a significant jump in performance over the last year.
“I wonder what would have happened if Adrian had looked around and thought of McLaren as the team to go to,” Hill mused about Sky F1.
“They’re already showing they’re going in the right direction. They’re definitely a team on the rise.”
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After returning to podium-scoring regulars in 2023, McLaren will continue its momentum in F1 in 2024, battling Ferrari to be recognized as the ‘best of the rest’ behind Red Bull so far. ing.
However, Hill’s fellow Sky F1 pundit Karun Chandhok believes McLaren’s real challenge this season is to claim a Grand Prix win, something they have not achieved since the 2021 Italian Games. ing.
Asked if he thought McLaren could compete with Ferrari throughout the 2024 F1 season, Chandhok replied: “Yes, I think so.” They are the absolute contenders for second place behind Red Bull and the best of the rest.
“I think what’s more important is whether they can get that elusive first win this year.” I think that’s the bigger question. That’s because in the two recent Red Bull failures, in Melbourne and Singapore, it was Ferrari, not McLaren, that picked up the pieces. I think that’s what they’re missing. ”
Heading into the Miami Grand Prix, McLaren is third in the constructors’ championship, 55 points behind Ferrari.
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