Former Ferrari F1 engineer believes Adrian Newey could avoid serving gardening leave due to a "strange clause"

Red Bull Racing CTO Adrian Newey recently made waves after reports emerged that he wished to part ways with the team, bringing an end to his 18-year stint with the Milton-Keynes-based squad.

In the wake of the allegations surrounding team principal Christian Horner, numerous reputed sources claimed that Newey had decided to leave the team. Since the news broke out, rival teams are scrambling to secure the services of F1's most successful designer.

Although Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin are reportedly vying to sign Adrian Newey, Red Bull has stated that Newey remains under contract until 2025. It is speculated that potential gardening leave clauses could mean the 65-year-old cannot join any team until 2027.

Contrary to the speculations, former Ferrari engineer Ernest Knoors believes a reputed F1 designer like Newey holds the power to negotiate the length of the gardening clause.

"It is not something that is easy to avoid... for a top designer like Newey, I can imagine that he may have stipulated when he was appointed to Red Bull that he does not want a gardening leave. That he wants to be able to decide for himself when he will start working again," Knoors told Racingnews365.com.

Knoors elaborated that Newey could drag the "strange" contract clause to courts and potentially reduce his gardening leave.

"It is a bit of a strange clause in employment contracts. You are actually prevented from doing your work and there are all kinds of general rules, including in European law, where you have the opportunity to turn it into a lawsuit."

There is plenty of speculation surrounding Adrian Newey's next move, with Ferrari and Aston Martin reportedly leading the race to secure the services of the design genius.

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Former F1 champion suggests Adrian Newey to join British team

Damon Hill, who drove the Adrian Newey-designed FW18 in his title-winning campaign in 1996, speculated on the potential of Newey reuniting with McLaren after his tenure with Red Bull Racing.

With the British F1 team on the rise, Hill believes Newey should consider joining the Zak Brown-led organization. He recently said on Sky Sports F1:

"I just wonder, what would happen if Adrian was looking around and was thinking about McLaren as a team to go to. They’ve already shown that they’re going in the right direction, they’re definitely a team on the make."

In his previous stint with McLaren, Mika Hakkinen drove the Adrian Newey-designed cars to championship titles in 1998 and 1999. Newey left the team after a disagreement with then-team boss Ron Dennis over the team's management.

McLaren has undergone a complete transformation from the Ron Dennis era, with Andrea Stella and Zak Brown currently spearheading the team's rise to the front.