LONDON – Adrian Newey, regarded as the greatest car designer in Formula One history, said that he wants to “seek new challenges” after Red Bull announced on May 1 that he will be leaving in early 2025.
It was widely reported last week that the 65-year-old Briton, who has been at Red Bull since 2005, was set to quit following a controversy involving misconduct allegations about team principal Christian Horner, and it has now been confirmed.
“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 One, and I’ve been lucky enough to make that dream a reality,” said Newey, Red Bull’s chief technical officer.
“For almost two decades, it has been my great honour to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing’s progress... However, I feel now is an opportune moment to hand that baton over to others and to seek new challenges for myself.”
The question now is, where will Newey go next?
There will be no lack of suitors – Red Bull have won six constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ titles, split between Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, with Newey-designed cars to date. They are on course to do the double again in 2024, with Dutch driver Verstappen the dominant force in the sport.
Ferrari, soon to be joined by Lewis Hamilton, appear to be in pole position to sign Newey, who had also previously worked with championship-winning teams at Williams and McLaren.
The Guardian reported that it is likely that he could opt to join the Scuderia, with Hamilton in a “dream team”, in a bid to turn around the Italian outfit’s fortunes.
Sky Sports also said that it was understood that both Ferrari and Aston Martin have approached Newey, whose preference is the former.
“A Ferrari representative held a meeting in the last week with Newey, who will not serve a period of gardening leave when he departs next year, leaving him free to join another Formula 1 team to help design their 2026 car,” Sky said.
Things could have been different at Red Bull had it not been for Horner, with The Guardian saying that Newey was not pleased with the team boss playing down his contributions and, in 2023, even suggested that he was “replaceable”.
That has probably caused a big strain in their relationship.
Newey, who at 65 has also not ruled out retirement, had said in the past that he wanted to work with Hamilton, that “working with Lewis would have been fabulous but it never happened”.
He has the perfect opportunity now in what would be perhaps a last major challenge in his career.
The worry for Red Bull is that Verstappen may follow suit.
The Dutchman, whose future with the team has been questioned, had said before that the “core pillars” in the team must remain for him to stay. The three-time world champion has been courted by Mercedes and it remains to be seen if he will honour his contract till 2028.
For now, the spotlight is on Newey.
Ferrari have not won a driver’s title since 2007 and a constructors’ championship since 2008. To bring Newey into the fold, alongside seven-time world champion Hamilton, could just be the extra fuel needed to finally topple Red Bull. AFP, REUTERS
