Jeremy Clarkson leaked $295m F1 bombshell in July … and no one noticed

Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson broke massive news back at the British Grand Prix in July with the F1 world finally giving him props.

The F1 world has only just realised former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson leaked the news of Adrian Newey’s bombshell Aston Martin deal back in July.

The brains behind F1 powerhouse Red Bull revealed in May that he would leave the current constructor’s champions after 19 years.

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The legendary 65-year-old designer is widely considered one of the greatest engineers in the sport’s history, where he has helped teams to 12 F1 constructors’ championships and seven different drivers winning 13 drivers’ championships using cars he’s designed.

Since he joined Red Bull in 2006, the team has won seven drivers’ championships through Sebastian Vettel (2010-2013) and Max Verstappen (2021-2023), as well as six constructors titles.

But the bombshell news the legendary designer was moving on turned immediately to speculation of where he was going next with the likes of Ferrari, former team of Williams and Aston Martin believed to be frontrunners.

Clarkson broke the news month before it was announced. Photo: Twitter

A week after he announced he was moving on from Red Bull, a handshake with Ferrari vice-chairman Piero Ferrari had tongues wagging that the Prancing Horse was primed to land the legend.

But while the F1 world wanted to know where Newey would wind up next, the designer stayed in the background.

However, Clarkson appeared to have dropped a bombshell back in July, even though the rest of the F1 world didn’t pick it up.

Speaking to Dutch TV Channel Viaplay TV at the British Grand Prix back in early July, Clarkson revealed that Newey had been househunting.

“Do you want an exclusive? I know Adrian Newey is househunting in Oxfordshire, not Maranello,” Clarkson revealed

The host replied: “Oxfordshire, not Maranello? Well, that is the biggest news. Thank you.”

While Red Bull were already ruled out, it would also mean that Ferrari, who are based in Maranello, Italy, would also be out of the running.

The reveal didn’t exactly point directly to Aston Martin, whose headquarters is 50km from Oxfordshire.

Seven of the F1 teams currently have a base in the UK, with Williams (26km), Alpine (26km), Mercedes (34km) and Haas (43km) all closer than Aston Martin, who are based at Silverstone.

But it was Aston Martin who had the cash to splash with the BBC reporting a deal worth a staggering $295 million, with the 65-year-old entitled to up to £30 million ($59 million) per season over five years.

Newey’s salary would dwarf all but Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s salaries on the current F1 grid.

Fernando Alonso, Adrian Newey, Lawrence Stroll, and Lance Stroll pose for a photo. Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images for Aston Martin

Fans gave Clarkson props for breaking the news, despite no one really taking notice at the time.

ESPN F1 posted: “Jeremy Clarkson knew before the rest of us.”

“Can we just appreciate that Jeremy Clarkson was the first one to break the news about Newey going to Aston Martin, a few months ago?” one fan wrote.

Another tweeted: “Jeremy Clarkson giving away the news about Adrian Newey will forever be hilarious to me.”

A third posted: “This is a game changer for Aston Martin, time to get Vettel back.”

A fourth commented: “Jeremy Clarkson knew it was happening before Newey knew it was happening. Told us he was house hunting close to Aston Martin HQ.”

Clarkson may have had the insider knowledge both from the fact he lives in Oxfordshire and knows Newey personally after going to school together at Repton in Derbyshire.

But the news has been a long time coming it seems with Aston Martin’s billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll revealing he had been speaking with Newey over a move for a long time.

“Adrian and I have been talking not only for months but actually for years,” Stroll said recently. “Adrian is clearly the most talented and gifted individual in Formula 1, based on his track record and history. So I’d be very excited for Adrian to join our team, as I think every other Formula 1 team on the grid would feel exactly the same.”