Newey’s Exit Confirmed By Red Bull, End Of An Era?

Red Bull confirmed via a statement on Tuesday that the team’s chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, is set to leave the team in the first quarter of 2025. 

The sensational news comes after the BBC and Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reported last week that highly-placed sources within the team said Newey informed Red Bull he wanted to leave. 

Newey was reportedly unhappy with recent allegations of inappropriate behaviour by team boss Christian Horner towards a Red Bull employee. 

Horner was cleared of all charges in February, however, the Austrian company’s internal investigation has caused controversy, and Formula 1 figures, including Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, criticised the investigation’s lack of transparency. 

The Race reported that Newey was close to walking away from Red Bull in 2023 and was then persuaded to sign a 12-month contract. The 65-year-old has now felt time has run out with the team he spent nearly two decades with. 

Newey said: ‘‘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.’’

The most successful F1 car designer yet.

The Briton has been with the energy drink team for 18 years after leaving McLaren in 2006. Horner was instrumental in signing the designer and the two oversaw the team achieve seven F1 Drivers’ and six Constructors’ Championship titles. 

When the new ground effects regulations came into effect in 2022, Newey and his team were ahead of the pack with the dominant RB18. Verstappen won 15 out of 22 races and it started the second dominant era for the team.  

Before Red Bull, Newey designed championship-winning cars for Williams and McLaren. 

What’s Next For Newey?

Red Bull announced Newey would be stepping back from his F1 design work and focus on completing the RB17 hypercar. Aside from designing F1 cars the Briton also designs yachts and high-performance cars. 

He penned the Valkyrie, a hybrid sports car dreamed up by Aston Martin Lagonda and Red Bull Racing Advanced Technologies. 

This season Newey will only attend specific F1 races, including this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix. 

Newey’s longtime friend and manager Eddie Jordan assisted in getting the designer out of his contract. It means that Newey will be available to Red Bull’s rivals when the sport’s next engine and chassis regulations come into effect in 2026. 

Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin have all been linked with Newey. A move to Ferrari to join up with seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton would be a seismic moment in the sport and one that many followers of the sport would want to see happen.

Sean Parker

Sean Parker is a motorsport journalist and sports content creator at The South African. He has worked for the country's premier motoring publications, and is a Formula 1 contributor to Bet.co.za, the Bet Central podcast, and Vision View Sports radio.