It’s confirmed: Adrian Newey, perhaps the greatest car designer in the history of Formula 1, is departing from the Red Bull Racing team that helped define his legacy. Red Bull has confirmed that Newey will remain with the team until the first quarter of 2025, after which point he will be leave, Motorsport.com reports.
“Oracle Red Bull Racing today announces that Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey will leave the Red Bull Technology Group in the first quarter of 2025,” says a release from the team. “The engineering supremo will step back from Formula 1 design duties to focus on final development and delivery of Red Bull’s first hypercar, the hugely anticipated RB17. He will remain involved in and committed to this exciting project until its completion.”
Newey will attend “specific races” throughout the remainder of the 2024 F1 season, including this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.
As part of the Red Bull release, Newey wrote, “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. For almost two decades it has been my great honor 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.”
That does somewhat negate the real reason for Newey’s departure. Not all has been well between Newey and Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner, and that butting of heads hit its boiling point in the wake of certain allegations against Horner, who was accused of inappropriate and controlling behavior toward a female employee. The investigation into Horner’s actions was dismissed, but tensions have lingered between Horner, Newey, Red Bull F1 director Helmut Marko, and driver Max Verstappen.
Newey joined Red Bull back in 2006, where his design experience helped guide the team to seven F1 Drivers’ Championships, six Constructors’ Championships, 118 victories and 101 pole positions.
It’s not clear what Newey’s next move will be. Many F1 pundits have linked him to Ferrari, which would be a logical step considering the fact that Newey once claimed that his biggest regrets in the sport were never working with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso. Ferrari has signed Lewis Hamilton as its driver for 2025, though any sweeping changes made by Newey likely would not come into effect until 2026.
Crucially, Newey will also not be required to take “gardening leave,” meaning that there is no contract-enforced period of time during which he would not be allowed to work in Formula 1.