Adrian Newey to leave Red Bull

Rumours swirled that Newey had become unhappy with the situation at Red Bull following the investigation into Team Principal Christian Horner’s conduct at the beginning of the 2024 season. Now both Newey and Red Bull have confirmed the British designer’s upcoming departure as Newey looks to “hand over the baton” of design.

A statement from Red Bull said Newey would continue to work for the company until the beginning of 2025, and his focus would be on the development of the firm’s first non-racing car, the RB17 hypercar, which he designed.

The statement read: “The engineering supremo will step back from Formula One design duties to focus on final development and delivery of Red Bull’s first hypercar, the hugely anticipated RB17. He will remain involved in and committed to this exciting project until its completion.

“Since joining Red Bull Racing in 2006, Adrian’s vision and technical leadership has been instrumental for the Team and Group in achieving a remarkable seven F1 Drivers’ and six Constructors’ Championship titles - totalling 118 victories and 101 poles including the STR 2008 pole and victory.”

Newey’s tenure at Red Bull has been astonishing. After joining from McLaren in 2006, it took just three years to turn the team into a winning machine. Since then Newey has overseen two periods of utter F1 dominance. First with Sebastian Vettel from 2010-2013 and then now with Max Verstappen.

While the latter part of his Red Bull career has seen Newey explore new avenues, including designing the Aston Martin Valkyrie, working on Americas Cup yachts, and more recently the yet-to-be-revealed Red Bull RB17, he has still kept a keen eye on Red Bull’s F1 efforts. In his role as Chief Technical Officer, Newey has been acknowledged as a key source of the ideas that have propelled Red Bull back to the front of the grid.

But he clearly felt unsettled in 2024, with the team facing uncertainty from both outside and in. New management at the overarching Red Bull company, following the passing of iconic leader Dietrich Matesschitz, has caused some ructions within Red Bull. The addition of the uncertainty around Horner, which has spread to questions over Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko’s futures with the team, seems to have been the final straw.

Newey added: “Ever since I was a young boy, I wanted to be a designer of fast cars. My dream was to be an engineer in Formula 1, and I’ve been lucky enough to make that dream a reality. 

“For almost two decades it has been my great honour to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing’s progress from upstart newcomer to multiple title-winning Team. However, I feel now is an opportune moment to hand that baton over to others and to seek new challenges for myself. In the interim, the final stages of development of RB17 are upon us, so for the remainder of my time with the Team my focus will lie there.

“I would like to thank the many amazing people I have worked with at Red Bull in our journey over the last 18 years for their talent, dedication and hard work. It has been a real privilege, and I am confident that the engineering Team are well prepared for the work going into the final evolution of the car under the four-year period of this regulation set.”

Newey went on to thank Dietrich Mateschitz, the late Red Bull boss, his son Mark and Chalen Yoovidhya, the billionaire Thai co-owner of the company. He also thanked Oliver Mintzlaf, the managing director, and his manager Eddie Jordan, but left out mention of team boss Horner.

Speaking about the departure Horner himself added: “All of our greatest moments from the past 20 years have come with Adrian’s hand on the technical tiller. His vision and brilliance have helped us to 13 titles in 20 seasons. His exceptional ability to conceptualise beyond F1 and bring wider inspiration to bear on the design of grand prix cars, his remarkable talent for embracing change and finding the most rewarding areas of the rules to focus on, and his relentless will to win have helped Red Bull Racing to become a greater force than I think even the late Dietrich Mateschitz might have imagined. 

“More than that, the past 19 years with Adrian have been enormous fun. For me, when Adrian joined Red Bull, he was already a superstar designer. Two decades and 13 Championships later he leaves as a true legend. He is also my friend and someone I will be eternally grateful to for everything he brought to our partnership. The legacy he leaves behind will echo through the halls of Milton Keynes and RB17 Track Car will be a fitting testament and legacy to his time with us.”

As to where Newey heads next, there would appear to be only a couple of options. Aston Martin are reportedly keen on luring him to Silverstone, with Lawrence Stroll prepared to break the bank to secure his signature. Newey however is apparently less than enthused by that particular project.

It would seem his most likely destination is Ferrari. Along with the impending arrival of Lewis Hamilton to Maranello in 2025, it’s no secret that Ferrari would like to bring Newey in. It will depend however on whether the 65-year-old is prepared to relocate to Italy. 

The other option is retirement, although since Newey states that he is looking for new opportunities, that seems unlikely. Who knows, we might see Newey back outside of F1. One thing is for certain, after 13 championships together and 19 years, Red Bull will not be the same team without Newey.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images