Toto Wolff has confirmed to holding talks at Mercedes about signing Adrian Newey from Red Bull - but ultimately turned down the chance.
Newey is on gardening leave after stepping down as Red Bull chief technical officer and will join Aston Martin as technical managing partner from March 1 2025 after 19 years at Milton Keynes.
Ferrari was also touted as another likely destination for Newey, with Mercedes sometimes mentioned but never seen as a realistic possibility.
But Wolff has now revealed that he did hold internal talks with his technical director James Allison about potentially swooping for Newey.
"I gave it a thought and James and I discussed it," Wolff told media including RacingNews365 when asked if Newey was ever a serious target for Mercedes.
"We elaborated on it and came to the conclusion that the structure we have today is the one we have faith in and that we want to continue.
"Having said that both of us have a great respect for Newey, but we passed on that because we believe in our team."
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