Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s personal assistant contacted Adrian Newey in a bid to poach him from Red Bull: Report

Adrian Newey, the mastermind behind some of the most best F1 cars ever, currently at Red Bull, was approached by Mercedes before his contract extension.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s personal assistant contacted Adrian Newey in a bid to poach him from Red Bull: Report

Red Bull's chief technical officer, Adrian Newey

Adrian Newey is considered one of, if not the outright, greatest F1 car designers, and aerodynamicists, of all time. Cars designed by him, for Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull, have won 11 Constructors’ championships. A testament to his ability is that, even when the team had a ‘low’ spell between 2014 and 2020, they were still considered to have the best, or second-best aero on the grid. This reputation means that Newey will always be a very desirable employee.

And now, with a good engine, he has been instrumental in bringing the team back on top. The RB18, Red Bull’s 2022 challenger, was incredibly dominant – particularly in the races. It was one of the most successful F1 cars ever. The RB19 looks well on its way to repeating, or even exceeding the success of its predecessor. Recently, the Briton signed a contract extension with Red Bull. But before was set in stone, Ferrari were reported to be interested.

YouTube video

But Mercedes went one step further – and according to F1-Insider, tried to ‘poach’ him. But as it may be obvious, he refused their offer. Apparently, Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff’s personal assistant, a former RB employee, contacted Newey personally. Helmut Marko, speaking about the ‘poaching attempt’ to the publication, said: “Mr. Wolff may not seem to have complete confidence have his own people fix the problems with their car.” Mercedes certainly have a lot on their hands with the W14.

FS Video

Read More: Red Bull retains Adrian Newey as he agrees for contract extension

Not only Adrian Newey – other RB employees are also sought after

Red Bull employees working on the RB18
Red Bull employees working on the RB18

The fact that Red Bull are so dominant means that their employees, apart from Adrian Newey, are more sought after than ever. One of their former employees, Dan Fallows, has gone to Aston Martin. He joined in 2022 as technical director, which meant that while he could not play a role in the base car for that season, he played a major role moving forward. This season, AM has catapulted to the top four-pack, and probably have the second-best car. Coincidence?

Ferrari, too, seek to lure some RB employees to them. Laurent Mekies is moving to AlphaTauri as team principal, and in exchange for letting him go, they want some key people from Woking to make the move to Maranello. Pierre Waché, deemed Newey’s ‘right-hand man’ is understood to be one of them. Enrico Balbo is another name that has been touted.

While Christian Horner has publically stated that there will be no ‘hostage exchanges’ of senior employees, it’ll be interesting to see how the situation develops. Considering that the Mekies announcement is said to have caught Ferrari a little off-guard, it’s unlikely they will acquiesce to an early release. On the Newey front too, perhaps in a few years, he’ll want a new project.

In case you missed it: