As he is now out of the F1 project, Red Bull has already started the procedure to restrict Adrian Newey’s information.
After 19 years at Red Bull, Adrian Newey will leave the team after the first quarter of 2025 and is now working at the Milton Keynes-based team.
While Newey was in Miami last weekend, despite having already started his F1 gardening license, team boss Christian Horner explained how Red Bull initiated the procedure to restrict Newey’s access.
With all sorts of rumours about what Newey might do next once he leaves Red Bull until mid-2025, Horner showed that Newey no longer has to know and will no longer be involved in any technical briefings.
“Adrian is now basically focused on the RB17,” he said after the Miami Grand Prix, referring to the Red Bull-developed hypercar that is a creation of Newey’s and the branch to which he assigned until the end of his contract.
“He didn’t attend any briefings this weekend, apart from race strategy.
“He doesn’t need any data, he doesn’t draw portions and now he concentrates on the RB17 until the end of his [opinion].
“He’ll be competing in a few races between now and the end of the year, basically where we have RB17 customers. “
Asked if he was concerned about Newey joining another team, Horner replied that, in the end, Red Bull had no hand in the decision.
“I think Adrian is going to step away from Formula 1 a little bit and, at 65 years old, you can’t blame him. I think he’s earned that right.
“He’s earned the right to take time off. So what you choose to do after this will be your choice.
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Speaking to Sky F1 during the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Newey explained why he left Red Bull and, for now, F1.
“Formula 1 is all-consuming,” he said.
2021 has been a very busy year due to the close war with Mercedes for the championship and at the same time the investment of all the studies and progression in the RB18, which is the father of this generation of cars.
“I don’t know. I think there comes a time when I feel, as Forrest Gump said, “I feel a little tired. “
But even if Newey is possibly contemplating a break from F1, Red Bull’s position of isolating him from his knowledge of F1 is normal: once his contract expires, Newey can also move on to a rival team.
He has been very connected to Ferrari, and Newey himself wagged his tongue when he saw him on the grid shaking hands with Ferrari vice-president Piero Ferrari.
Williams’ James Vowles also said he had “lighthearted” conversations with Newey about the Grove-based team’s meeting with the guy who designed some of Williams’ most dominant cars in the 1990s.
But, for now, Newey is adamant he won’t look elsewhere for a well-deserved break from the sport.
“I think with Amanda and my wife and the dogs, we’ll probably go in campervans or something and drive around France and just enjoy life,” he said.
“So at some point, I don’t know when, I’ll be in the shower and I’ll say, ‘Well, this is going to be the next adventure,’ but, at the moment, there’s no plan. “
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