Toto Wolff reveals two Adrian Newey to Mercedes conditions in ‘messiah’ claim

Adrian Newey and a Mercedes badge.

While Mercedes principal and one-third owner Toto Wolff would be willing to bring in Adrian Newey, he must want to be there and fit in.

A staggering 25 Formula 1 titles have been won through Newey-inspired designs, but the 65-year-old will be a free agent after the first quarter of 2025 with his Red Bull departure confirmed.

Toto Wolff not ruling out Adrian Newey to Mercedes

But with Newey setting the “target” of deciding whether he wants to continue in Formula 1 by the winter at the latest, there are no shortage of teams interested in making sure he sticks around, Ferrari and Aston Martin seemingly having emerged as the frontrunners to secure his signature.

Mercedes can also be considered among the teams keeping a watch on the Newey situation, but if a deal was to happen, then Wolff said that it must be the right fit for Mercedes, with Newey also wanting to be there.

Asked by Sky F1 if he would sign Adrian Newey if he could, Wolff replied: “I think no team can discard Adrian, but he needs to fit into the organisation and he needs to want it.”

Mercedes has enjoyed a major spike in performance over recent rounds, George Russell contending for the win in Canada before taking a second career victory in Austria. Russell meanwhile heads a Mercedes one-two on the grid for the British Grand Prix, that being the third pole position of his F1 career.

And Wolff says they are not on the lookout for a “messiah” type of figure, which Newey has become under F1’s ground effect regulations after Red Bull’s initial dominance of this era.

“I think you’ve always got to look at opportunities,” Wolff continued, “but it’s not like that today we wait for a messiah.”

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With a reset coming in F1 2026, when new look chassis and power unit regulations come into effect, the potential lure is there to bring Newey back to Formula 1 for a fresh challenge.

But following the FIA’s reveal of the regulations, Wolff says they “don’t look particularly great” at the moment and called them a “work in progress”.

“The regulations, as they stand at the moment, don’t look particularly great,” Wolff claimed, “but it’s a work in progress.

“And I would very much hope that the ones who are responsible on the FIA side listen to the teams and that we work collaboratively on coming up with regulations that make it an exciting sport, because that’s the most important for us, the stakeholders, and also the fans out there, to have really exciting racing.”

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