Red Bull confirms Newey’s departure, focus shifts to hypercar

Red Bull confirms the departure of Adrian Newey from its F1 team in the first quarter of 2025 season, few months earlier than the contract.

The rumbles at Red Bull has finally seen one piece falling after rumours of several exiting. It is not Christian Horner or Helmut Marko or Max Verstappen for now, but veteran and legendary designer Newey, who departs after two decades with the F1 outfit.

He had a valid contract until the 2025 season, but has found a way to end it early in the first quarter of 2025. He will be trackside for some of the races to the end of 2024, but step aside from design work, while focusing on Red Bull’s hypercar, RB17.

The car is set to be revealed in Goodwood in July. It is unclear if Newey will eventually join a F1 team at the later stage beyond 2025 after fully leaving Red Bull, with the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren, all wanting a piece of him.

The saga at Red Bull which started in the winter where Horner was in the headlines has thrown open internal power struggle. Amid rumours of Marko’s exit, Verstappen threw his weight behind him but all of it was eventually settled behind the scenes.

But Newey has different thoughts it seems like and has decided to end a successful championship-winning relationship with Red Bull. He has been instrumental in the achievement of seven drivers’ and six constructors’ title in his tenure.

“Ever since I was a young boy, I wanted to be a designer of fast cars,” said Newey. “My dream was to be an engineer in Formula One, 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. On a personal note, I would also like to thank the shareholders, the late Dietrich Mateschitz, Mark Mateschitz and Chalerm Yoovidhya for their unwavering support during my time at Red Bull, and Christian, who has not only been my business partner but also a friend of our respective families. Also, thanks to Oliver Mintzlaff for his stewardship and Eddie Jordan, my close friend and manager.”

Team boss Horner 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.”

Here’s Toto Wolff, Christian Horner on Max Verstappen’s situation

Here’s situation around Adrian Newey