Mercedes failed in bid to sign Newey - Marko

Mercedes failed in an audacious attempt to persuade design genius Adrian Newey to join them, according to Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.

It was recently revealed that Chief Technical Officer Newey had signed a contract extension with Red Bull, with Marko saying he expected the 64-year-old to remain with the team until retirement.

Widely regarded as one of the most influential designers in F1 history, Newey has been responsible for a total of 11 Championship-winning cars with Red Bull, McLaren and Williams, and would likely not have been short of offers had he chosen to end his 17-year spell with Red Bull.

The drinks-backed outfit scooped both titles last year and look on course to do likewise in 2023. By contrast, Mercedes have slipped back from their own title-winning dominance of 2014 to 2021, and Marko told F1-Insider that the Silver Arrows had tried to tempt Newey away from Red Bull.

"It seems [Mercedes Team Principal Toto] Wolff has no confidence that his own people can solve the problems with the Mercedes," the Austrian said.

Ferrari looking to poach Red Bull staffer

With underperforming Ferrari having lost David Sanchez to McLaren, and being set to lose Laurent Mekies when the Frenchman takes over from Franz Tost as AlphaTauri's Team Principal, the Scuderia were rumoured to be sniffing around Red Bull's Technical Director, Pierre Wache.

However, Marko dismissed suggestions that Wache may be set to join Ferrari.

"We like to see Ferrari competitive, but it doesn't work that way. We are not at a bazaar. Moreover, Wache does not want to change teams and we would not agree to it," said Marko.