Family prevented Ferrari switch for Newey

Adrian Newey has admitted that one of the only things that has held him back from switching to Ferrari is his family.

Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing, Technical Operations Director and his wife

Photo by: xpb.cc

The Briton, who has also won titles with UK based McLaren and Williams, is regarded as the best technical mind in Formula One and instrumental to Red Bull's current run of dominance.

So has he thought about moving to Ferrari, F1's most evocative marque?

"There is no particular reason (why he has not), there has just never been the right time for it to occur," Newey told Spain's Canal 9.

"Also, my family and my children are in England and so it would be an upheaval for them to have to go to live in Italy.

"It is a shame," he acknowledged, "because it is a great team and while many drivers covet driving for Ferrari one day, the same goes for engineers."

Meanwhile, Newey denied recent reports that his next F1 car, the 2012 Red Bull RB8, will be completely different to the current single seater.

"People think I said that, but I did not," he insisted.

"It will be an evolution of the (2009) RB5, the car that started this series," Newey explained. "Last year's car was based on it and so was this one (2011). RB5 is the father of them all."