After the bombshell departure of Adrian Newey from Red Bull at the end of this season, everyone is wondering what the technical guru, the great genius of aerodynamics, will do. He has no shortage of offers, and practically no one in the paddock hides that signing him would be a dream.
While Helmut MarkoRed Bull advisor, believes that he can be seen ‘in green’ in reference to Aston Martin, Christian Hornerdirector of Newey’s still team, sees him more outside of Formula 1.
“If you talk to Adrian and look at the statements he has made, Adrian has decided that the time has come to retire after almost 35 years, now that we have such a strong team and with the depth of engineering that we have,” Horner said at the Miami GP.
Given the possibility that he will go to a rival and put his team in trouble Milton Keynessince he is free to sign for another team in 2025, Horner insisted: “Adrian, I think, is going to take some time away from Formula 1. At 65 years old, you can’t blame him. He has earned that right. , you have earned the right to take some time. Whatever you decide to do next will be your choice.”
One of the theories to explain Newey’s departure is the discrepancies that would have arisen between him and Horner, but the director assures that it has nothing to do with him: “I have spoken at length with Adrian about it and Adrian’s position is very clear. We have enjoyed a great relationship, we continue to enjoy a great relationship, we are friends as well as co-workers. He has done a lot for this team and we will be sad to see him go. But he has left the team in good shape and we have a great team. of people and strength in depth to carry us forward.
“Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. Adrian was at Williams for seven years, at McLaren for seven years, we managed to have him for 18 years. So I think we’ve had some great times, on and off the track. It’s been a wonderful trip with Adrian. He is a friend, he is the godfather of my children and we remain friends. We are well positioned for the future and within the technical team we have… we always knew that this day would come and it has been since 2014, when “Adrian was very close to leaving, that structure was set up.”
Reinforcing that idea that he had been expecting Newey’s departure for almost a decade and had prepared for it, Horner said: “We knew that moment was coming and we have created a structure to pick up the baton and move forward, and that is something that we have implemented in the last five or six years.
Finally Horner confirmed that Newey will no longer see Red Bull’s technical development in case he leaves for another team, and that in fact he will not be in all the races: “Well, Adrian is very focused now on the RB17, so he won’t He has attended no briefing during the weekend except for the race strategy meeting. He does not have access to any data, he is not drawing any pieces. He is very focused on the RB17 until the end of his contract. He will be in some races. between now and the end of the year, mainly where we have RB17 customers.
