Ever since the advent of the ground effect regulations, Red Bull has enjoyed a run of unprecedented dominance. In that run, they haven’t seen many days of struggle. On the off occasions they did, they have always found a senior figure prepared to find solutions. That man is Adrian Newey, as per Sergio Perez.
In a recent video posted by Red Bull Racing on YouTube, the Mexican driver said, “There were weekends when we were pretty lost and he would come in and try to guide us in the right direction. Then all of a sudden, our weekend would look very different. He was much more than a designer on the team.”
Red Bull won’t have that calming figure soon. They announced Newey’s imminent exit earlier this month. The Briton will pull out of the F1 operations while continuing to work on Red Bull’s hypercar project, the RB17.
Once that job is done, Newey is free to leave the Milton Keynes outfit anytime after the first quarter of 2025. Red Bull has recently gone through a period of reported internal struggle.
In the aftermath of the allegations Christian Horner faced, Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, openly called for his exit. As the power tussle came out in the open, Horner’s falling out with Helmut Marko came out in the open as well. The turbulent environment reportedly got too much for Adrian Newey to handle and eventually led to his exit.
Naturally, the rumors made their way to the rest of the paddock as well. With Newey being one of the most successful F1 car designers, he quickly became the hot property that every team wanted. His hold on the ground effect concept is another factor that makes him so desirable.
Where could Adrian Newey go from here?
Among the biggest teams looking to sign Adrian Newey are Ferrari and Aston Martin. While Ferrari has rumoredly held several meetings with him to finalize the move, some suggest Aston Martin has already put forward a lucrative offer on the table.
The swift move from the Silverstone-based team is a result of Lawrence Stroll’s desire to have Newey at any cost. Despite that, experts have ruled out the move to Silverstone. The only possible move for the 65-year-old is expected to be to Ferrari.
One of the biggest reasons behind the assumption is Newey’s own admission. In a Beyond The Grid episode last year, the Briton revealed his ’emotional regret’ of never getting to work with Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton. There is, however, another possibility- the possibility of Adrian Newey taking time off from F1.
https://x.com/autosport/status/1789586319376629946
Eddie Jordan, who is Newey’s manager and helped negotiate his exit from Red Bull, admitted that the 65-year-old would consider taking time off from F1. The 25-time world champion himself discussed about not thinking about moving to a new team yet and just looking to enjoy some time off.
