Formula 1 is facing a real transfer hammer. But in this case it’s not about the premier class driver market. Adrian Newey could turn his back on Red Bull next season. The announcement that the chief designer is leaving Christian Horner’s team after almost 20 years in the service of the Bulls is imminent.
This emerges from a report by ‘auto motor und sport’. It has been known for a long time that Newey is said to be unhappy at Red Bull. This is mainly due to the internal power struggle at Red Bull, which is primarily between team boss Christian Horner and motorsport consultant Dr. Helmut Marko and has only calmed down, at least outwardly, in the last few weeks. The close relationship between Newey and team boss Horner is said to have suffered from the power struggle. Rumors of Newey’s departure persist.
Where does this leave Adrian Newey? Negotiations with Red Bull are ongoing
Newey’s contract runs until the end of 2025, but at the moment it seems entirely possible that he will leave Red Bull after 2024. According to information from Motorsport-Magazin.com, a farewell is also linked to the launch of the super sports car project, the RB17.
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Newey is also primarily responsible for the Bulls’ hypercar. The project could be completed by the end of the year. But it doesn’t seem like the end is fixed yet. As Motorsport-Magzain.com has learned, negotiations are currently ongoing between Red Bull and Newey about the engineer’s future.
Is Adrian Newey moving to Ferrari?
This would of course clear the way for Newey to move to another team in Formula 1. Above all Ferrari is currently said to be keen to secure the services of the most sought-after engineer in the premier class. There have already been several reports that Newey had been spotted at Bologna airport, which is not far from Maranello.
Ferrari, who only brought in Lewis Hamilton as a new driver in the winter, could create a team with the most successful driver in Formula 1 in combination with one of the most successful technicians in the modern premier class. It was only in September 2023 that the star engineer spoke of an “emotional regret” about never having worked with Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari. The Scuderia is said to have approached Newey with a mega offer a few years ago. Newey declined at the time; by moving to Ferrari he could now fulfill two of his goals in one go.
But Aston Martin and Mercedes are also said to have already put out feelers to Newey. In contrast to Ferrari, the Silver Arrows and the Silverstone team could offer a job on the island with comparable broad resources to those found at Red Bull or Ferrari.
Adrian Newey has been active in Formula 1 since 1988. After initially joining March, he moved to Williams as chief designer in 1991. With the traditional team he secured two world titles and in 1992 he was responsible for one of the most dominant cars in F1 history before moving to McLaren in 1997, where he also won two world titles. He has been in charge of technical affairs at Red Bull since 2006. With Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, he has been responsible for a total of seven drivers’ titles in Milton Keynes to date. Number 8 seems unlikely to be taken away from him in 2024.
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