Alonso at Red Bull would have been "fantastic" says Newey
F1 News
- Bevan Youl
Red Bull technical boss Adrian Newey has said that it would have been "fantastic" to work with Fernando Alonso in Formula 1 if he had moved to the team.
His comments come at an interesting time after several rumours the past weeks that Alonso had been in contact with the top teams for a potential seat back in the sport next year, but nothing official has been confirmed.
Newey said to Spanish magazine Esquire: “Working with him would have been fantastic.
“He seems to have had bad luck with some choices he has made, but whenever we have spoken with him, he has been very kind.
“Fernando’s ability often exceeds the car in his hands. I think that’s the mark of a truly great driver — the ability to stand out despite not having a great car.”
Not only has Alonso been in talks with a return to the sport but Sebastian Vettel has been linked with a return to his former team, a duo that Newey believes would be like “Ayrton [Senna] and Alain [Prost].”
“It is one of those things that unfortunately never happened, but it was very close to happening,” he added.
“I think we would have had a lot of success altogether, but it didn’t work out.
“Red Bull has generally always tried to follow the policy of developing its own drivers. That was a small consideration.
“We met a couple of times and there were negotiations in Austria,” Newey revealed. “It was close, but in the end it didn’t happen.”