Hamilton and Leclerc remain optimistic despite Newey's move to Aston Martin

Future teammates express optimism despite departure of renowned engineer.

Future Ferrari teammates Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have expressed no disappointment over Adrian Newey's decision to join Aston Martin over Ferrari next year. Newey, often described as a design genius, remains one of the most sought-after engineers in Formula 1.

Newey's announcement of his departure from Red Bull in May led to months of speculation regarding his next career move. His manager, Eddie Jordan, confirmed that substantial negotiations took place between Newey and Ferrari, but the engineer ultimately opted to join Aston Martin, with the decision becoming public on Tuesday. Newey is set to start his new role in March next year.

Despite Newey's choice, Hamilton, who will be transitioning from Mercedes to Ferrari, remains optimistic about his new chapter. When asked whether he was disappointed by Newey's decision, Hamilton responded:

"Honestly, no. I feel like, while I've mentioned before that it would be an honour to work with Adrian, I have been privileged to work with two championship-winning teams that didn't have Adrian. I think any team probably would have been happy to have had him. But at the end of the day, he had to do what was best for him. It doesn't change anything for me."

Hamilton emphasized that his goals and focus remain unaltered:

"It doesn't change my goal, or my focus with the next move. So I still believe 100 percent that there's lots we can do there."

Leclerc, who has been part of Ferrari since 2019, echoed Hamilton’s sentiments and praised team principal Fred Vasseur’s vision for the team:

"There are no disappointments [about Newey's decision]. It's not like we haven't tried or spoken to Adrian. I know that there were talks and he made his decision. I respect his decision. At the end, as Ferrari, we have always considered more the group than the individual. Of course, Adrian has an incredible [record] and has done amazing things. But we have an amazing group and I have no doubts that going forward we have an extremely strong team to come back at the top. I'm really happy with the structure."

Leclerc expressed his full trust in Vasseur’s leadership:

"Obviously, it's Fred's job to try and put the team in the best possible place to try and win races and I 200 percent trust Fred and I'm completely onboard with his vision. It's a continuous process to try and improve Ferrari over the years and we are in the middle of this process. But I am super happy with the way he sees things and the things he does."

As Ferrari looks to the future, both Hamilton and Leclerc remain committed to the team's long-term vision and optimistic about their chances of competing at the highest levels of Formula 1.

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