Rumors claiming that legendary Formula 1 designer Adrian Newey was leaving Red Bull Racing began swirling a week ago, after various European publications cited sources within the team. It’s official now, as the Milton Keynes squad confirmed Wednesday morning that Chief Technical Officer Newey is leaving the team.
Despite being under contract until the end of 2025, Newey chose to leave the partnership now following what seems to have been a tumultuous relationship with team principal Christian Horner. According to Chris Medland via Racer.com, the relationship between the two F1 giants had been weakening over the past 12 months. It’s unclear if this was purely professional or due to Horner’s recent allegations and internal investigation for inappropriate behavior toward a female employee.
Despite officially ending his contractual obligations, Red Bull Racing said that Newey will likely attend some races as “trackside support” throughout the 2024 season. More importantly to Newey’s career goals, however, he will remain involved with the final stage of development for Red Bull’s first street-going hypercar, the RB17.
As the tweet above highlights, Newey’s stint at Red Bull Racing delivered one of the most successful partnerships in the history of the sport. The duo accomplished six F1 Constructors’ World Championships, seven drivers’ championships, 101 pole positions, and perhaps most importantly, a staggering 118 race wins.
Newey has not announced his future plans, though it’s safe to say that just about every cash-rich F1 team is having meetings about this very subject right now. Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren? We’ll see.
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