Hamilton: “It would be a privilege to work with” Newey at Ferrari

As rumours regarding Adrian Newey’s possible move to Maranello begin to swirl, Lewis Hamilton said the technological power-house would “absolutely be at the top” of his list of people he’d “love to work with,” refusing to mention if Newey’s name was thrown around in his negotiations with Ferrari.

During the Miami Grand Prix drivers’ press conference, Lewis Hamilton made it clear that on both a professional and personal level, the seven-time world champion is “very” keen to work with the soon-to-be departing Red Bull Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey.

“If I was to do a list of people that I’d love to work with, he would absolutely be at the top of that,” Hamilton said.

“Adrian’s known for… He’s got such a great history, track record. 

“And, you know, he’s obviously just done an amazing job through his career in engaging with teams and the knowledge that he has. 

“I think he would be an amazing addition. I think [Ferrari has] already got a great team. 

“They’re already making huge progress, strides forwards, their cars quicker this year. 

“But yeah, it would be a privilege to work with him.”

At the end of this season, both legends of the sport will part ways with their respective teams, leaving behind similar record-breaking legacies as they do so. 

Newey has made it clear that certain teams are not on his radar for a possible new chapter in F1, however, is yet to publicly deny a move to the Italian outfit. 

Lewis Hamilton was also unable to deny conversations being held about the 65-year-old joining him on his new venture, saying: “I can’t tell you, I can’t tell you what was in the discussions,” when directly questioned.

“Racing against a team that he’s been so heavily a part of through the years has been a massive challenge, but I think we just always need to remember that there’s a lot of people in the background and there is not one key person that… It’s not one person, it’s a whole team of people who do the job,” Hamilton said. 

“So you can imagine for all the amazing experience that he brings to the team, the people that he works with will continue to do an amazing job. 

“And I don’t anticipate Red Bull not continuing to build great cars moving forward. 

“But any team would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him.”

Despite Newey making the switch to Red Bull Racing in 2006, before Hamilton arrived at McLaren in 2007, the seven-time world champion said he felt “privileged” to have driven an evolution of the Formula 1 great’s designs when he joined the Woking-based team.

“I think I got there just after he left,” Hamilton said.

“So that car had evolved from a concept that he had worked on. 

“I felt privileged that I’d had the chance to touch something that he had worked on.”

Newey will part ways with Red Bull in 2025, with Hamilton also sticking it out with Mercedes until the end of the season before hunting down his record-breaking eighth title with Ferrari next year.

In Miami, Mercedes has brought a “small upgrade” for their W15, however, Hamilton still expects the weekend to be a “challenge”. 

“We’ve got an upgrade here, a small upgrade here this weekend so, excited to see developments coming through. 

“And I think hopefully we’ll have a car in a bit of a better working window. 

“No doubt it will still be a challenge, but really excited to be here in the States.” 

Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

2024 Miami Grand Prix schedule 

Saturday, May 4

Practice 1: 02.30-03.30

Sprint Shootout: 06.30-07.14

Sunday, May 5

Sprint: 02.00-03.00

Qualifying: 06.00-07.00

Monday, May 5

Grand Prix: 06.00

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