Lewis Hamilton has already summed up his view on Adrian Newey with five-word comment

Lewis Hamilton summed Adrian Newey up in just five words, as speculation mounts over the Red Bull chief engineer’s future. The 65-year-old is reportedly set to quit after nearly two decades as a result of the ongoing power struggle at Red Bull, with Hamilton’s next team Ferrari instilled as one of the favourites to land the chief technology officer.

Newey is regarded as one of Formula One’s top engineering minds by many inside the paddock, with Hamilton no exception. “He doesn’t build bad cars” was the Mercedes driver’s succinct analysis of Newey’s abilities, hinting that he would be open to working with the Red Bull mastermind at Ferrari.

Ferrari have been turned down on three occasions by Newey in the past, most recently in 2014, but has admitted his desire to work with Hamilton in the past and could realise his ambition with the Italian outfit after Hamilton gushed over the engineer.

“They’ve (Red Bull) got the aero-balance right, great ride quality, no problems with bumps,” he said at the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix. “They’re an amazing team and have done a phenomenal job. Adrian Newey doesn’t generally build bad cars. My first championship car (in 2007) was an evolution of his car.

“He did a thesis (at the University of Southampton) on ground-effect cars. It’s no surprise, he’s one of the only ones who draws these cars by hand.”

Newey’s exit would have been unthinkable when he penned a new contract until the end of 2025 last year, but the turmoil surrounding Red Bull and team principal Christian Horner has had such a detrimental effect that the resulting internal power struggle has caused Newey to consider his future.

Hamilton, however, may be less shocked than most at the prospect of Newey being made available to Red Bull’s rivals. Having surprised the F1 world himself by leaving Mercedes for Ferrari, Hamilton teased an “interesting” few months ahead behind the scenes.