• Published on 04/25/2024 – 13:09 • Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
If on the tracks Formula 1 is experiencing a moment of little emotion, the situation behind the scenes is very different and dramatic. With all the situations capable of shaking structures in the category of recent times, now things are moving again. Adrian Newey has decided to leave Red Bull after almost 20 years.
The information is from the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport. Newey arrived at Red Bull in 2006, already renowned for his achievements with Williams and McLaren in Formula 1. He was responsible for signing all of Red Bull’s champion cars, both during Sebastian Vettel’s and Max Verstappen’s time.
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According to the vehicle, Newey is very uncomfortable due to the struggle for control of the company between Christian Horner/Thai division and Helmut Marko/Austrian division. And, without wanting to get involved, he feels he runs the risk of being increasingly sidelined from the F1 project to look after the RB17 hypercar. Newey, however, still wants to work with F1. Although he no longer spends every day in the office updating the Red Bull car, as he did in the past, he is still the one signing off on final designs and defining concepts.
Even with the engineer’s decision, it is still not clear when it will be completely free on the market. Less than a year ago, he signed a contract renewal until the end of 2025, when the RB17 will be in the sales process. The German magazine, however, believes that Newey will claim the right to be released at the end of 2024.
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For a few months now there has been talk about Newey’s possible departure from Red Bull and, therefore, rumors about interest in the engineer have grown. Especially for Ferrari, which is rebuilding the team, it will have Lewis Hamilton in 2025 and has already heard Newey say that working for the Italian team was something that was missing in his career; and Aston Martin, which has invested heavily in F1 to reach 2026 in the fight for the title.
Last week there was a bit of a frenzy when Newey was spotted at Bologna airport in Italy, relatively close to the Ferrari factory. Mercedes has never expressed any interest, but bringing in the world’s greatest ground effect specialist is something that makes sense for a team that simply doesn’t understand the new wave of F1 cars. Furthermore, if you are really thinking about taking Max Verstappen from Red Bull soon, counting on Newey is an important step.
If Newey manages to be free on the market at the end of 2024 and does not have a long waiting period required, he will be able to be actively involved in the process of the new team he is on for 2026. Before that, it will have no impact.
Formula 1 returns from May 3 to 5 for the Miami GP, the first of three that will take place in the United States in the 2024 season.
