Pierro Ferrari reveals Adrian Newey had been approached even by Jean Todt in the past for the Italian team

Italian businessman Pierro Ferrari has revealed that Adrian Newey was approached by Jean Todt in the past to join the Scuderia team. Newey, however, elected to stay in the UK and was unwilling to move out to Maranello.

Newey is the mastermind behind the current championship-leading car, Red Bull's RB19, but he very easily could have been a part of the Maranello camp. As per Enzo Ferrari's son, the Briton was approached by Todt sometime during his tenure as team principal of the Scuderia.

He told Autosprint:

"He spoke with Montezemolo and then also with Jean Todt. Evidently he doesn't want to move: he likes to stay in England! And then, undisputed skill aside, it's not just him, he has excellent elements around him".

The Italian team could really benefit from Newey's technical brilliance in 2023, as the Scuderia's challenger is unable to challenge the frontrunners, Red Bull.

Meanwhile, the RB19 has won every race so far this season and is the clear class of the field. Max Verstappen has won three out of the five opening races this year and is well on his way to securing his third consecutive title in the sport.

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Ferrari drivers struggling with inconsistencies in the car

Ferrari endured a disappointing weekend in Miami due to inconsistencies with their 2023 challenger. Both drivers struggled to extract the maximum performance from their cars, resulting in Carlos Sainz finishing in fifth place and Charles Leclerc in seventh place.

During Q3, Leclerc pushed his car to the limit but unfortunately lost control of the rear end, leading to a collision with the wall and triggering red flags. Consequently, both Leclerc and two-time world champion Max Verstappen started the race from unfavorable positions, occupying seventh and ninth places on the grid, respectively.

Sainz initially secured a promising third place during qualifying after the red flag interruption. However, he couldn't maintain his position during the race, ultimately finishing in fifth place behind Max Verstappen and George Russell.

Currently, Ferrari's main challenge lies in the car's tendency to change its balance mid-corner, making it exceptionally challenging for Leclerc and Sainz to drive consistently.

Speaking about the issue on the Race podcast, F1 pundit Scott Mitchell-Malm said about Ferrari:

"It was interesting actually. We've heard before that the car's wind-affected and particularly vulnerable to that. When they talk about lacking consistency on the car, he [Leclerc] said: 'It's not even corner to corner, it's in the same corner, there'll be a wild swing from an oversteer balance to an understeer balance just depending on what's happening through the corner.'"

As F1 heads to the Scuderia's backyard in Imola, it will be interesting to see how the team performs on home soil.