Whilst Ferrari’s new team principal Marco Mattiacci denied making any approach to Adrian Newey, telling reporters in Monaco “we never contacted Adrian”, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko tells a different story.
The Austrian, who is owner Dietrich Mateschitz’s right-hand man, described the offer made by the Italian team – believed to have come directly from president Luca di Montezmolo – “absurd”.
“We have had long conversations with Adrian,” he told Servus TV. “Ferrari made him an absurd offer – both on the financial side as well as in terms of his responsibilities.”
Newey however chose to remain with Red Bull for the foreseeable future, but his role with the F1 team will be greatly reduced and he’ll instead work on ‘other’ projects.
Marko explained that the British designer’s decision to reject Ferrari’s offer – believed to exceed an annual salary of £18 million – as well as choosing to take a step back from F1, is centered around his frustrations surrounding the restrictive regulations.
“Adrian has admitted openly that he is a little tired,” he added. “This is because in Formula 1 there is gradually less and less room for innovation.
“We do not want to lose him, so we will build this new centre where – alongside his work in F1 – he can also manage multiple projects.”
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