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Adrian Newey is expected to officially leave his post as head of engineering at Red Bull Racing in the first quarter of 2025. We can therefore assume that he will not finish overseeing the development of next year’s car. Because, Red Bull immediately adds that if it leaves F1, it seems to remain in the Red Bull fold with the final development of the Red Bull Hypercar: the RB17. Newey will therefore move from F1 to the WEC a priori and will remain under the influence of RBR.
Some already imagined him leaving for Ferrari or another Red Bull competitor in F1. Please note, this does not mean that it will not happen. But this won’t happen right away. This should allow Red Bull to have its star engineer observe a “fallow” period before he offers his services elsewhere. This period allows you to keep a key person away so that they are not aware of the next developments and do not leave with them.
We can therefore assume that Newey will no longer be in the paddock from Miami and will no longer touch F1 at Red Bull from now until his departure at the end of the 1st quarter of 2025. By doing this, Red Bull is making arrangements so that Newey cannot really influence his future team for 2025. F1 will have new technical regulations in 2026 and it is hard to see Newey not participating. Unless at 65, Newey decides to turn the page on F1 for good?
The Red Bull prize list is him!
Obviously, Red Bull is full of praise for Newey, without whom the Milton Keynes team’s track record would not be the same. However, this withdrawal of Newey comes from the atmosphere within the team following the Horner affair (or non-affair). Horner accused of having “misbehaved” (euphemism?) towards an employee was protected by the Thai management of Red Bull. Two clans clash and it will break Red Bull.
The proof, Newey took the first step. We also mention Helmut Marko, boss of the Red Bull industry, but also Max Vertappen and his clan who would look elsewhere. Rumors remain insistent that the two parties are in full discussions to find a way out.
When Newey resigns from his position, it will be 20 years at Red Bull. His first real, fully designed car was the RB3 from 2007, which scored a podium finish with Webber. At the time, Newey was working on the Red Bull, but also the Toro Rosso. The Toro Rosso takes the first victory for the RB group with Vettel at the wheel. Vettel and Newey will have the best days of Red Bull before a more delicate passage. We will have to wait for a Verstappen-Honda-Newey trio for Red Bull to become untouchable on the track again.
With the departure of Newey, a page is turning in Formula 1. To better write another?
To sum up
Adrian Newey will leave Red Bull F1 at the start of 2025. The rumor was right. On the other hand, he should stay with Red Bull, which had to find a way to keep him a little away from F1 and the competitors. If he goes to Ferrari, Mercedes, Audi or who knows Aston Martin, it won’t be right away.