Ferrari is prepared to ‘break the bank’ seeking to sign Newey, Brawn and Bell

Ferrari salvation? Adrian Newey, Ross Brawn and Bob Bell

Bob Bell could be the next piece of the Ferrari soap opera as the legendary Maranello team looks to end its current slump as quickly as possible and return to the top of the Formula 1 pecking order.

Already reported by multiple authoritative sources is that the fabled Maranello team is prepared to ‘break the bank’ and sign Red Bull’s Adrian Newey, who is already paid a reported $12 million per year.

“Ferrari badly want Adrian Newey,” a Ferrari source told the Guardian newspaper. “I don’t know whether they have talked to him yet, but if not, they will.”

But Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said the 55-year-old is happy at Milton Keynes.
“He has made his feelings clear to me about the team,” Horner commented after the outbreak of the latest reports. The speculation is purely that. You can understand why Ferrari would be looking.”

Marco Mattiacci watches Fernando Alonso on the Barcelona grid

Newey, however, may not be Ferrari’s only target. Ross Brawn has already been linked with a return to Italy, and now the Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Bob Bell is another possible recruit.
It was announced last month that Bell will be leaving his role as dominant Mercedes’ technical director, the German team saying he is seeking “new challenges” elsewhere.
“It is reported that Brawn, Bell and Newey could bring order to Ferrari’s technical department,” said El Mundo.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari are also close to acknowledging that – given Mercedes’ utter dominance – “It is already time” to begin thinking about the 2015 season.

Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso struggled in Spain

It is believed that President Luca di Montezemolo had said that Barcelona, Monaco and Montreal are key races before Ferrari must decide if focusing on the Formula 14-T’s successor should be the main objective.

Also reported is that Ferrari’s turbo V6 engine project for 2015, codenamed 666, is currently more advanced than it normally would be at this time of year.
Yet another report is that Fernando Alonso has finally lost patience waiting for a title-winning Ferrari, and is now casting eyes at Mercedes.

Mercedes Team Chairman Niki Lauda, however, is quoted by Speed Week: “We have two top drivers already, both going for the win. So what would we do with Alonso?” (GMM)