Earlier this Formula 1 season it was confirmed that Adrian Newey can be leaving Red Bull. The incontrovertible fact that arguably the best designer and engineer within the sport’s historical past would quickly go away the group immediately despatched shockwaves all through the paddock forward of the Miami Grand Prix. From hospitality area to hospitality area, reward poured in for Newey from former Red Bull drivers, and hypothesis grew about the place he might land.
However, did Jeremy Clarkson give the sport away on the grid forward of the British Grand Prix?
The former Top Gear host was talking with Viaplay Sport Nederland and supplied up what he known as an “unique” with the interviewer, earlier than sharing the next:
“I do know Adrian Newey is home looking in Oxfordshire, not Maranello.”
You can see the trade right here:
Why might this matter? If true, it may very well be an indication that Newey can be forgoing the rumored transfer to Ferrari — and their headquarters in Maranello — and instead to Williams, located just down the road from Oxfordshire.
Of course, some context. Rumors in Formula 1 at all times require a grain of salt earlier than the pen is put to paper, and on this case, some scuttlebutt supplied up by the Top Gear host could require much more salt than a grain or two. Could Clarkson actually be within the know, or is that this simply an opportunity for writers like me to bang out just a few paragraphs of breathless hypothesis?
It might seemingly be the latter, particularly with the information that Enrico Cardile is leaving Ferrari for Aston Martin, opening up a spot for Newey at Ferrari. But there’s motive to suppose that Newey can be intrigued by a transfer to Williams. After all, he spent six seasons with Williams within the Nineties, serving to the group win 5 straight Constructors’ Championships. Some of the automobiles Newey designed at Williams, such because the FW14B and the FW15C, stand among the many most dominant within the sport’s historical past.
For these curious about extra, Newey’s ebook How to Build a Car particulars how these — and extra — automobiles of his have been designed all through his unimaginable profession.
And now we wait to see if Clarkson is correct, and that profession comes considerably full circle with a return to Williams.
