Adrian Newey has shown that he will leave Red Bull at the beginning of 2025 and it has been reported that Ferrari has contacted the legendary F1 designer.
Sky Sports News understands that Ferrari and Aston Martin have reached out to Newey, whose preference is Ferrari. The Scuderia has already signed Lewis Hamilton to a one-year deal on a multi-year contract.
A Ferrari representative held a meeting last week with Newey, who won’t be absent when he leaves next year, allowing him to sign up for another Formula 1 team to help design its 2026 car.
Aston Martin were looking to sign Newey and have had talks over the past few months, but the 65-year-old is more interested in Ferrari.
Newey will not race Red Bull’s current F1 car for the remainder of the season, but will concentrate his efforts on Red Bull’s first hypercar, the RB17, before departing in early 2025.
He will be available this weekend at the Miami Grand Prix and has yet ruled out the option of retiring from the sport.
Newey had informally informed the team of his preference to leave last week and on Wednesday, Red Bull showed it would leave its Formula 1 design duties to “focus on the final progression and delivery of Red Bull’s first hypercar, the highly anticipated RB17”. “. .
Newey has been with Red Bull since 2006, leading the design of the cars that helped the team win its thirteen world titles, and team principal Christian Horner said he left the team a “true legend”.
Newey said: “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve sought to be a fast car designer. My dream is to be an engineer in Formula 1, and I’m lucky enough to make it happen.
“For nearly two decades, it has been an honour for me to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing’s progression from a newcomer to a multi-title-winning team.
“However, I think it’s the right time to pass the baton to others and challenge myself.
“I would like to thank many other ordinary people I have worked with at Red Bull during our journey over the more than 18 years for their talent, determination and hard work.
“In the meantime, the final stages of the RB17’s progression are upon us, so for the rest of my time with the team I will take care of that.
“It has been a real privilege and I am confident that the engineering team is well prepared for the work leading up to the final evolution of the car within the four years of these regulations being in force. “
Newey was on the verge of deciding to leave Red Bull in the past, but Horner convinced him to stay on a deal that tied him to the team until the end of 2025.
At Red Bull, we are confident that they are prepared for Newey’s departure by evolving their technical operations and ensuring that the branch is not, in Horner’s words, absolutely “dependent” on its leader.
Technical director Pierre Wache, who was linked with a move to Ferrari last year, signed a contract extension with Red Bull in February and appears to be Newey’s most likely successor as technical director.
In terms of results, Newey’s decision to leave comes as he manages one of the most dominant periods in the history of the sport.
After leaping Lewis Hamilton to win his first drivers’ title in 2021, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has dominated the past two seasons and is on course to win a fourth in a row in 2024. Red Bull won every race last season, while Verstappen’s victory in China in April gave the Dutchman his 21st win in the last 23 F1 Grands Prix.
However, Newey’s appointments with director Horner are said to have cooled.
In addition to his comments on Newey’s team’s dependence, Horner also drew a comparison to football by pointing out that Manchester United had retained their good luck after the departure of star player Eric Cantona, seeming to recommend that Red Bull could continue to win without Newey. .
In addition to the tensions between Horner and Newey, the team’s good fortunes have been overshadowed by an era of prolonged turbulence following their Austrian parent company’s investigation earlier this year into allegations of misplaced behaviour against Horner through a colleague. , which denied the allegations, was ignored on Feb. 28. The woman who filed the complaint has since appealed the outcome.
Following the allegations against Horner, an apparent power struggle has ensued at Red Bull, with Horner very tense after the father of his star driver Jos Verstappen called for the team principal’s departure.
It is believed that the series of events further disappointed Newey. However, while his relationship with Horner has cooled, the pair are still set to fly together to the Miami GP this weekend, and Newey is yet to attend any other big events decided. 2024 Season Award.
Paying tribute to Newey, Horner said: “All of our biggest moments over the last 20 years came with Adrian’s hand on the technical bar. His vision and genius helped us win thirteen titles in 20 seasons.
“His exceptional ability to conceptualise beyond F1 and bring wider inspiration to the design of grand prix cars, his remarkable ability to embrace change and locate the most rewarding spaces in the regulations to focus on, and his relentless drive to win, have helped Red Bull Racing. A greater force than even the vanquished Dietrich Mateschitz could have imagined.
“More than that, the last 19 years with Adrian have been incredibly fun. For me, when Adrian joined Red Bull, he was already a superstar designer.
“Two decades and thirteen championships later, he leaves as a true legend.
“He is also my friend and someone I will be grateful to for everything he has contributed to our association. The legacy he leaves behind will resonate in the halls of Milton Keynes and the RB17 Track Car will be a fitting testament and legacy to his time with us. “
Newey is one of the most respected and successful figures in the history of Formula 1 and had already designed several winning cars for McLaren and Williams before being convinced through Horner to sign for a new Red Bull team in 2006.
Craig Slater of Sky Sports News:
“What Verstappen said at his press conference in Miami on Thursday will be hugely significant, even if he feels reassured at the prospect of Newey’s departure because the rest of the technical team is in place.
“If you decide to turn Newey’s game into a weapon, could you use it as extra ammo if you need to find your own way out?I think it will send that signal tomorrow. “
“He’s a main character leaving the team. One of the reasons Newey is leaving is because of this wider struggle of forces at Red Bull between the Thai with the primary share and the Austrian with 49 per cent.
“There is a perceived clash between Oliver Mintzlaff, managing director of Red Bull Salzburg’s sporting programme, and Christian Horner, who does not like Salzburg’s interference in the team he has built over the years.
“This struggle of forces is topical. How this game feeds into it will be significant. Yes, there has been a gap between Horner and Newey that has widened over the last year. I think it’s unfair to call it a discussion.
“Maybe Horner is wasting a key ally. What does this mean in this current friction at Red Bull?I think we’re going to get some pretty transparent signals in the next few days. “
Thursday 4:30 p. m. : Drivers’ press conference
Friday, May 33: F1 Academy Practice 3:00 p. m. : First practice of the Miami GP (session at 5:30 p. m. ) 8:20 p. m. : F1 Academy Practice 3:00 p. m. : Miami GP Sprint Qualifying (session at 9:30 p. m. )
Saturday May 4:25 p. m. : F1 Academy Qualifying 4 p. m. : Miami Sprint GP (race starts at 5 p. m. ) 6:30 p. m. : Ted’s Sprint Notebook 7:05 p. m. : F1 Academy Race 6 p. m. : Miami GP Qualifying Prep*9 p. m. : Miami GP Qualifying*11 p. m. : Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday in May 17:05: F1 Academy Race 17:30: Grand Prix Miami GP Warm-Up Sunday*21:00: The MIAMI GRAND PRIX* 23:00: Miami GP Checkered Flag*Midnight: Ted’s Notebook*
*also at the Sky Sports Main Event
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