McLaren technical director, Adrian Newey has hinted that he could retire from F1 in 2005.

Talking to BBC Sport, Newey said: "My contract with McLaren runs until 31 July next year so I will be technical director until then and after that we'll have to see."

"I haven't made any decisions to be perfectly honest," he added, referring to his future plans. "At the moment, I'm mainly focused on next year's car and working through that, then some point next spring I'll think about life after that.

Newey first role in motorsport was as aerodynamicist for the Fittipaldi's F1 team, after which he moved to March, working on the GTP project and Indycars before joining the F1 team, as technical director in 1987.

Despite the fact that the team was hampered with an uncompetitive engine, the pretty March 881 finished sixth in the 1988 Constructors' Championship. In 1990 he joined Williams where he enjoyed tremendous success until he opted to move to McLaren in 1997, after what many believe was a row over Frank Williams' refusal to pay Newey the money he wanted, and grant him shares in the company.

In the past, Newey has revealed that he wishes to design a yacht for the America's Cup, while a couple of years back he came close to joining Jaguar.

In 2003 and in 2004, McLaren has had more than its fair share of problems, with many F1 insiders wondering if Newey has simply lost motivation. Should he choose to retire, it would certainly leave the Woking outfit in a difficult situation as it attempts to replace him.