One of the first F1 drivers Adrian Newey worked with in his career believes an exit from Red Bull would lead to an exodus of talent.
While it was hypothesized last week that Adrian Newey is on the verge of leaving Red Bull, either to retire or to go to a competitor, Ivan Capelli believes that if that happens, Red Bull will suffer a mass exodus of talented engineers.
Speaking to Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport, Capelli, who worked with Newey at Leyton House between 1988 and 1990, when the designer moved from IndyCar to F1, said he sees Newey leaving if he feels fully prepared for the challenge of coming to the squad elsewhere.
“Years later, leaving is a primal challenge where you put everything on the line,” Capelli said.
“And it also happens to me that, logically, he will not go alone, an engineer of this caliber takes his fans with him, since in a new track he will have to be operational and active. That does happen.
If Newey decides to leave Red Bull, PlanetF1. com understood that it may be necessary until 2027 before he can start racing with a rival team; This is due to his existing contract until the end of 2025, as well as a year off from gardening.
According to Capelli, Red Bull is a “boiling powder keg” following the internal investigation into team boss Christian Horner, who was sacked via Red Bull GmbH.
“They threw some ash into the fire, but it’s still burning,” Capelli said.
“Even in China, after Verstappen’s last win, they showed Christian Horner and Helmut Marko together on the podium and cheering. On the surface, nothing has been suppressed or resolved.
Newey has been linked with a potential move to Ferrari, a team he has never worked for in the past. Capelli believes Newey’s experience would be very useful for Ferrari if he were to make a change.
“This is the guy with 40 years of experience, who, even the last rule change, knew how to interpret the regulations immediately, locating answers to what for others has become an Achilles’ heel, like the porpoise,” he said.
“Because he had experienced those conditions 35 years ago with ground-effect cars. It is a great experience and, beyond his personal dystonia, a pictorial organization that borders on perfection.
“What sets Adrian apart from others is his ability to compare his own paintings in a very aseptic way. Last year he won 21 out of 22 races and said this car had no further progression and was going to be remade. And from a conceptual point of view, from his point of view, he has made an absolutely new car: let’s draw a line, a blank sheet of paper, and start again.
Given that Newey has never worked for an F1 team founded outside the UK, Capelli believes the chequebook will have to be wide open to lure him away from home.
“As far as I know, it is unlikely to come to Italy unless there is a monetary proposal that embarrasses anyone,” he said.
“Because of his habit, because of his conceptualization of painting and his intellectual organization, and because of his habit, I see him still very much anchored in England. “
Explaining that it would be Ferrari who would have to replace them to accommodate Newey and his talent, Capelli reiterated his stance that his departure from Red Bull would result in other senior engineers leaving with him.
“To me, he would come with his lieutenants. And there would be a new revolution that would not give a quick result,” he said, before stating that it would make more sense for 2026 with the replacement of technical regulations.
“If you look at 2026, it fits,” he said.
“In 2025, he’s not directly involved, except for a few details. “
Red Bull RB17: Adrian Newey’s £5 million hypercar with huge influence
Ranking: Adrian Newey’s 10 Most Successful Formula 1 Car Models
While some reports state with certainty that Newey is about to leave Red Bull and has already expressed this desire to the F1 team’s management, it PlanetF1. com understood that there has been no formal request for his resignation or official communication to sign off on his departure.
Newey has yet to publicly comment on the speculation, while Red Bull’s official stance has been to say that Newey remains under contract until the end of 2025 and that they “don’t know” he will join the team.
The 65-year-old is said to be in talks with Red Bull about his long-term following the publication of speculative reports of his resignation, to identify what will happen next.
Regardless of its F1 roles, Newey’s RB17 hypercar will mark Red Bull’s first foray into a full-fledged carmaker, with the device going into production in 2025.
Read next: ‘If you put Max in a Ferrari’: Helmut Marko Max Verstappen’s main request to Mercedes