Adrian Newey is almost certainly Ferrari-bound after admitting on Thursday that he expects to join another Formula One team before retiring.

Sources in Italy have indicated to Mail Sport that his contract with the Scuderia, which would partner him with Lewis Hamilton, is already signed.

Another senior figure in the sport said that if the ink wasn’t already dry that it soon would be.

Speculation over Newey’s future has swirled since the 65-year-old super-designer announced earlier this month that he would be leaving Red Bull after 19 years.

He has since been coy about what may come next, but on Thursday said: ‘I feel a little tired but at some point I’ll probably go again,’ adding that he was ‘seriously considering going somewhere else and doing another four or five years.’

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Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey is understood to have signed a deal to join Ferrari

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He’ll join alongside Lewis Hamilton, who announced this year that he’d be leaving Mercedes

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Newey’s exit is believed to have stemmed partially from the controversy surrounding Red Bull chief Christian Horner (right)