Report: F1 Car Design Legend Adrian Newey Set to Leave Red Bull
Renowned Formula 1 car designer Adrian Newey is set to leave World Champions Red Bull Racing.
Newey has been with Red Bull since 2006 and has been an instrumental pillar of the team’s rise and two spells of dominance in Formula 1.
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reported on Thursday that Newey, who last year signed a contract extension, has informed Red Bull of his desire to leave, with multiple outlets subsequently reporting the development.
In a request for a comment, Red Bull said: “Adrian is contracted until at least the end of 2025 and we are unaware of him joining any other team.”
Red Bull is on course for a third successive Constructors’ Championship, and seventh overall, and has won 42 of 49 races since new regulations were introduced in 2022.
Red Bull Racing has been clouded in off-track controversy early in 2024 amid the allegations against team principal Christian Horner, who was cleared of wrongdoing after an internal enquiry. The complainant has appealed the decision.
There has been discord between Horner, who is supported by Red Bull’s Thai co-owners, and Red Bull’s advisor Helmut Marko, who is a strong ally of world champion Max Verstappen, amid a wide-ranging power struggle following the death in late 2022 of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
Verstappen is currently contracted through 2028 but has made clear his desire for calm at the team, as well as the retention of the key architects of the current dominance, in particular his strong backing of Marko.
Newey’s impending departure will put several other Formula 1 teams on alert as to his availability.
Newey’s Formula 1 career began with the minnow March/Leyton House in the late 1980s before he was quickly picked up by Williams, winning five Constructors’ titles in six years. Newey switched to McLaren in 1997, delivering titles in 1998 and 99, but the team struggled in the early 2000s amid the dominance of Ferrari.
Newey joined Red Bull in early 2006, only a year after the energy drink acquired Jaguar, during a period in which the outfit was entrenched in the midfield.
Under Newey’s guidance Red Bull propelled itself into a front-runner in 2009, and won four consecutive titles from 2010 to 2013, before Mercedes emerged as a force in the hybrid engine era.
Red Bull returned to the front in 2022, under ground effect regulations, and dominated once more in 2023, winning 21 of 22 Grands Prix.
Cars that Newey has had a hand in designing have won over 200 Grands Prix and he has contributed to 12 Constructors’ titles.
