Ferrari may have dropped out of the running to secure the services of departing Red Bull technical guru Adrian Newey.
After Charles Leclerc’s Monaco win from pole, former Formula 1 driver Giedo van der Garde hailed the impact new boss Frederic Vasseur has already had on the fabled Maranello based team.
"Strategically he has brought in different people, like the new engineer for Leclerc," he told Viaplay. "Straight away he wins.
"He has attracted the right people to the team and even got Adrian Newey to join," the Dutchman added.
Indeed, in recent weeks, it seemed clear that Ferrari had successfully managed to woo Newey, arguably the most famous and respected F1 designer of all time - even though the news was not yet official.
But Michael Schmidt, the highly respected F1 editor for the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, claims the latest development is that Ferrari is in fact no longer interested in signing Newey.
Schmidt now claims Mercedes is back in play to secure Newey’s services, with Williams, McLaren and Aston Martin also still possible next-destinations for the 65-year-old Briton.
Former F1 driver David Coulthard, however, thinks retirement might actually still be an option for Newey, who is now progressively scaling back his involvement at Red Bull until he leaves completely early next year.
"Clearly, if he’s reflected on a contract that was signed a year or so ago and decided that he doesn’t want to be part of that contract longer term, that has to come from a space of doubt or unhappiness," Coulthard said on his podcast Formula For Success.
"Sometimes chasing the next opportunity, thinking that’s going to bring you happiness, you can end up having regret.
"I know what I would do if I was him at 65 years old with more money than time - I would be on that boat quicker than you could see me pack my Speedos."