Red Bull team principal Christian Horner denied there is any connection between the tensions within the team arising from allegations made against him earlier this year and Adrian Newey’s decision to leave.
Horner claimed Newey’s departure had been expected for some time and insisted the team is “well set up” to continue their success after he leaves. Newey will depart next year, ending his longest spell at any team during his enormously successful career.
Horner said Newey had decided it was the “right time” for him to step down from the company. “Adrian has had such a wonderful career,” Horner told Sky. “He’s been hard at it the last 30 years. Obviously was seven years with Williams, he’s done seven years with McLaren and then he’s done the best part of 20 years with ourselves.
“I think, just speaking with him, he’s reached a point where the team’s in great, great shape – we’re performing at such a high level – he feels that now is the right time for him to step away, take a bit of time out. He’s still going to be working on his RB17, the track car that we’re designing, but he felt that now was the time to take a break.”
Despite their continued on-track success, Red Bull have been at the centre of speculation for much of the year due to allegations made by a staff member against Horner, which he denies. Asked if Newey’s departure was related to the turmoil, Horner insisted “no, absolutely not.”
“I think this has been coming for some time,” he continued. “There was discussion, pretty much 12 months ago, that it might have been the time for Adrian to look at stepping back.
“So I know it’s been on his mind for some time and it’s been something that we’ve been having to plan for. And what better time to go than with a run of form that we’ve had over the last couple of seasons with the way the team is performing.
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“He’s stepping aside, not leaving the company, but stepping aside from Formula 1, while we’re right at the top of our game. We’ll be very sad to see him go. He’s been an immense part of our team over the last, pretty much. Two decades. But it will be with sadness that we see him depart, but also the show goes on.”
Despite Red Bull having made significant leaps in performance after major technical regulation changes in 2009 and 2022, Horner does not believe his team will feel Newey’s loss for the next major regulations overhaul for 2026.
“The ironic thing is he’s always hated every single regulation change”, Horner said, “and 2026 is a unique one, because it’s both chassis and engine regs. But it’s a very different world these days with the cost cap and the restrictions that we have on resources.”
Newey’s departure will not prompt a ‘brain drain’ of technical talents to other teams, Horner insists.
“Our key pillars are in place for the future,” he said. “The technical team are all on long-term contracts. We’ve been having to think about this moment for some time.
“It was always going to come at some point. I think the structure that we’ve got in place, which Adrian has helped contribute to morph and mould into the package that it now is, is well set to take up the baton and continue to produce fantastic cars like we have this year.”
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Amid reports linking Newey to various Red Bull rivals, Horner believes that he will step away from F1 at first if he is to then decide to return to the sport.
“I think he’s going to take some time out first and think about it,” he said.
“He’s 65 years of age – I think he’s earned that right to have a bit of time out, spend some time with his wife and family and that’s what he’s very keen to do. And then if he decides that he wants to have another run at Formula 1, who knows?”
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