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Newey announced earlier this week that he would leave his current Red Bull team early next year, having become unhappy with many aspects of his job in recent months.
Newey’s deal with Red Bull means he will be a free agent from March 2025, which has opened the door for several teams to try and get their hands on his services.
While Newey appears undecided on what he will do next, he is very strongly linked with a move to Ferrari who are keen to bring him on board to help boost their hopes following Lewis Hamilton’s arrival in early 2025.
Ferrari is not alone in its interest in Newey, however, as it recently emerged that Aston Martin had made a significant offer for him to join its operations.
And now Williams has thrown his hat into the ring, with team boss James Vowles explaining that he held discussions with Newey last week once it became clear he was on the verge of to leave Red Bull.
Speaking exclusively to Autosport about the situation, Vowles said: “I’ve known Adrian for a while anyway and spoke to him on Friday. I’m sure we’ll talk about this again very soon as well.
James Vowles, Team Principal, Williams Racing
Photo by: Motorsport Images
“He is an icon of our sport. There’s no doubt about that. Every team he has played for since Williams has been important for the championship. And that’s not a coincidence, it’s just the effect he has on the sport.
“It would be negligent of me not to speak to him. It’s that simple.”
Newey is no stranger to Williams, having been the architect of its most successful period of F1 dominance in the early 1990s.
He joined the team in 1991 and, alongside then technical director Patrick Head, helped create the all-conquering FW14B that won Nigel Mansell the world championship in 1992.
The cars he designed took the crowns in 1993, 1996 and 1997, before joining McLaren and helping the Woking-based team to the title.
Vowles said Newey’s capture would help assemble a “dream team”, although he admitted talks were not yet at an advanced stage.
“I think we, as Williams, have a tremendous amount of work to do,” he said. “Adrian or not, our task is enormous – and Adrian wouldn’t make it easy, but that’s the whole point.
“I think we need to be reasonable about this as well. Our conversations with him were very light. But still, are we in discussions? Yes. Very light discussions. But to answer your question, would this be a dream team? Yes.”
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