Christian Horner has “nothing set in stone” at Red Bull amid rumours over Adrian Newey’s future.
Adrian Newey has been a leading figure in Red Bull’s technical good fortune for more than 17 years, contributing to the design of all of its award-winning machines.
In his role as technical director and current technical director, Newey’s paints at Red Bull have been a marvellous success: his creations won four consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ championships with Sebastian Vettel between 2010 and 2013, as well as clinching the drivers’ title. Verstappen in 2021 before winning any of the titles in the following years.
The 2023 Red Bull RB19 has the most dominant car in the sport of all time, having been outclassed with just one win in 22 Grands Prix, while the RB20 is off to a smart start with four wins from five races this year.
But rumours have surfaced that Newey could leave Red Bull before his current contract expires. The British engineer has a contract until the end of 2025, having signed a new three-year contract at Milton Keynes last season.
Several major publications, adding the BBC, claim to have learned that Newey is about to leave Red Bull. The team’s official stance reads: “Adrian has a contract until at least the end of 2025 and we don’t know if he has joined any other team. “
But the express wording does not rule out the option of Newey leaving his F1 duties to devote himself to his passionate RB17 project, which will go into production next season, or taking a full sabbatical from F1 before evaluating an opportunity. return to a competitor after a long period. Landscaping license period.
PlanetF1. com understands that, without embarking on a legal battle, Newey would not work for a rival F1 team until, at the earliest, in 2027, if he is truly tempted to leave Milton Keynes.
But with Newey tasked with overseeing Red Bull’s technical departments, led by technical director Pierre Wache, head of aerodynamics Enrico Balbo and lead engineers Paul Monaghan and Ben Waterhouse, Horner spoke of the continuity that has been built within Red Bull.
Speaking after the Chinese Grand Prix, in which Red Bull drew 1-3 with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, Horner said the Red Bull team had no explanation for why it should worry about problems in its technical ranks.
“We’ve had an evolution in our team, nothing is still,” he said.
“Nothing stays static forever, but it has great continuity.
“Paul Monaghan won the trophy [in China] and has been with us for 19 years.
“We’ve had a lot of stability but, at the same time, we’ve continued to expand our wonderful skills within the team.
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“If you think about engineers like Rocky (Guillaume Rocquelin), who won all the championships with Sebastian [Vettel], he’s still racing with the team.
“He has another assignment but he’s still in our company. Simon Rennie still works for the team.
“There are a lot of engineers and designers out there. We’ve had a lot of stability but, of course, it’s not just about one or two individuals, it’s about the collective.
Newey is expected to attend the Miami Grand Prix with Red Bull, having recently won several highly lucrative contracts from rivals such as Aston Martin and Ferrari.
Speaking at the Japanese Grand Prix, Horner admitted that it was inevitable that, given his success, other groups would come to sniff out Newey.
“Adrian is a long-term component of our team,” Horner said in Japan.
“He’s incorporated into the team. There will be interest in him, that’s for sure.
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