It's all a bit pathetic really isn't it? All this running round after the drivers, asking questions ... "Where are you going to be driving next year?" Whilst the man behind the wheel is undoubtedly the focus of the team's effort over the season and race weekend, there are a wide range of personalities behind the scenes that get the car to the track in a competitive state. One of the most important of these is the designer, and whilst the tabloid press have been busy deciding whether it will be Damon Hill, Jean Alesi or whoever at Benetton next year, the specialist motorsport press have been hinting at something that threatens to radically alter the balance of power in Formula One - much more so than any driver line-up.

The man I'm talking about, of course, is the talented Adrian Newey - chief designer at Williams, and the man most responsible for their domination of this year's drivers' and constructors' championship. Although the more public face of the Williams design office is the equally talented Patrick Head, the majority of the work on this year's car has been done by Newey himself, with Head only supplying the minimum of assistance. In fact, Newey's career has been something of a success - right from the day he left Southampton University with a first class honours degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and started working in motorsport. One of his first tasks was to assist in righting the wrongs of the March sports-car competing at Daytona. After leading 22 of the 24 hours in the race, a small problem relegated the car to second - but, more importantly, Newey had made his mark.

After engineering the March IndyCar for Bobby Rahal, he graduated to the Formula One program. It was here that Newey really made his mark. The 1988 March-Judd was just a tad impressive. Whilst the McLaren-Hondas driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost dominated the year, the March team, with Adrian Newey at the engineering helm, steered a steady course through the season and scored 22 points - highlight of which was second place at the Portuguese Grand Prix. 1989's car was a bit of a dog, however, thanks to a slightly over-zealous approach to the aerodynamics that left the rest of the car - including the driver comfort - somewhat lacking. Under the Leyton-House banner in 1990, though, the team had something of a resurgence - scoring 11 points and a fine second at the French Grand Prix.

It was to be onwards and upwards for Newey, and the heady heights of Williams beckoned. The fact that the Williams cars have pretty much been the dominant force over the last six seasons is a testimony to Newey's design skill - constructors' titles in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996; drivers' titles in 1992, 1993 and this year's soon to be resolved contest. Complimented by everyone who has worked with him, and respected by all his opposition, Newey has become the man to have in your engineering department - replacing even the talented John Barnard in the favoured designer stakes. This is where the problem lies, though - Newey is a wanted man, and the opposition may just be able to tempt him to leave Williams. But why would Newey want to leave the team with which he has become synonymous; the team with which he has had so much success?

The point returns to drivers, and the recent news that Damon Hill will not be defending his championship in a Williams for 1997. Newey was one of Hill's biggest fans when the Englishman was their test driver in the early '90s, and apparently assisted in getting Hill the race seat for 1993 that promoted the talented Briton onto the world scene. It seems that Newey is not to happy with Frank Williams's decision, and is beginning to lose faith in the ethics of a team principal who can sack three world champions just when they are on the verge of their well deserved glory. There is also the challenge of joining a different team; a team who are on the verge of winning, but require an expert designer to help make that extra step. Like Schumacher, imagine the glory that Newey would have heaped upon him if he were able to transform an also-ran into a world beater. But who wants Newey, and what of the fact that he has a cast-in-stone contract that prevents him leaving Williams until 1999?

The team that so desperately wants Newey is McLaren: they have the drivers in David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen; they have the engine in Mercedes (widely tipped to be the unit to beat in 1997); they have the strong leadership of Ron Dennis and technical assistance of four times world champion Alain Prost. But they don't have a brilliant car. This year's MP4/11 has not been a dog, but the aerodynamic package could certainly do with a bit of sprucing up - the sort of sprucing that Newey could work wonders with. It's enough to tempt Ron Dennis to offer Newey a rumoured $2m financial package that would see the designer working at McLaren by mid '97. The team would then be able to begin making realistic plans for world championship glory once more, rather than struggling to win races. The problem remains with Newey's Williams contract.

Like any good team boss, Frank Williams recognised a talented individual when he sees one, and Newey's contract apparently links him to Williams until 1999 - no exceptions. There does apparently exist a clause, though, that may provide Newey's escape route - should he want to leave. The recent signing of Frentzen to Williams, and more importantly the manner in which the deal was conducted may be a breach of the contract. As yet, though, it's all just rumours. But the way weird and unlikely rumours have been going these past few months, anything is possible. Watch out Williams, the man behind your wings could well be flying the nest...