Adrian Newey Leaves Red Bull Racing

[TeamKoolGreen]

I'm thinking that the power train isn't up to for 2026. He doesn't want to have to deal with that again

Red Bull technologies actually helped Honda get the power unit in order so this whole narrative is wishful thinking.

Red Bull said a year ago that the new formula will be problematic and will require active aero. And F1's own tests vindicated them. Which shows that they are ahead of the game.

And Red Bulls 2026 engine has been heard running already

[Hoffman900]

I linked this in the active suspension thread, as Frank gets into the history of it, but his comments on AN seem appropriate (47:00) and maybe hints at why he’s so good.

[Holm86]

I suspect the Agnellis will be opening their cheque book. The only question is if Newey wants to commit to long periods in Italy.

Entirely possible to act in a consulting role and do it much of it remotely if desired. But a month now and then in a nice Tuscan villa in order to be close to the factory would hardly be a huge sacrifice. Especially if Mrs Newey fancies the idea of it.

This is what I'm expecting, he will be hired in an advisory role, kinda like they did with Rory Byrne

[Hoffman900]

I'm thinking that the power train isn't up to for 2026. He doesn't want to have to deal with that again

Red Bull technologies actually helped Honda get the power unit in order so this whole narrative is wishful thinking.

Red Bull said a year ago that the new formula will be problematic and will require active aero. And F1's own tests vindicated them. Which shows that they are ahead of the game.

And Red Bulls 2026 engine has been heard running already

RB’s input was letting Honda free reign in packaging and designing the car around the PU, not jamming a PU into a chassis and forcing them into a bunch of compromises.

A running engine doesn’t mean it’s good it also doesn’t mean it’s bad.

[Mogster]

I suspect the Agnellis will be opening their cheque book. The only question is if Newey wants to commit to long periods in Italy.

Entirely possible to act in a consulting role and do it much of it remotely if desired. But a month now and then in a nice Tuscan villa in order to be close to the factory would hardly be a huge sacrifice. Especially if Mrs Newey fancies the idea of it.

This is what I'm expecting, he will be hired in an advisory role, kinda like they did with Rory Byrne

Trying to be Ferrari TD from England really didn’t work for John Barnard. Different times though, who knows…

[dialtone]

Didn't work for Barnard because sending around fax copies of your drawings ended up with tons of ccompliance and tolerance issues.

Safe to say faxes aren't a thing anymore and Byrne is working fine from Thailand.

[Holm86]

Entirely possible to act in a consulting role and do it much of it remotely if desired. But a month now and then in a nice Tuscan villa in order to be close to the factory would hardly be a huge sacrifice. Especially if Mrs Newey fancies the idea of it.

This is what I'm expecting, he will be hired in an advisory role, kinda like they did with Rory Byrne

Trying to be Ferrari TD from England really didn’t work for John Barnard. Different times though, who knows…

As said is expect him to be an advisor, working part time from wherever he wants to, visiting the factory every now and then.
He won't be TD or lead aerodynamic designer, he will overlook concepts, and come with inputs etc

[organic]

Adrian rules out joining AMR

[NoDivergence]

If Hamilton ends up having made the greatest driver move of all time twice, I will be absolutely gobsmacked

[fourmula1]

Ferrari feels destined to win a championship in the next few years. Feels like there is a sporting story being written. The value of a championship for them is almost immeasurable now. Cost of HAM and Newey would be drops in the bucket compared to the value of win.

[MTL79]

Saward on Twitter saying the RB17 is pretty much finished and this is just the gardening leave. He’s also leaning more towards AM over Ferarri if he was to go anywhere a grain of salt but who knows

I respect Saward, but he did say last week he wouldn't believe Newey was leaving until Newey announced it. But you don't extract somebody out of a contract in a week. Eddie Jordan has played a blinder in extracting Newey from his Red Bull contract. He's free to start work at an F1 team in 2025 If I've read things correctly.
'He also revealed that his departure had been handled by former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan, who Newey described as his “close friend and manager”.

Jordan and Newey have succeeded in pulling off a major coup in extricating the designer from a contract that ran to the end of 2025 and included a 12-month “non-compete” clause which should have meant he was not available to any other team until 2027 at the earliest.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cv2rd53gnr6o

This will have taken a few weeks to negotiate. Sky Sports F1 are saying AM sources believe Newey is leaning towards Ferrari and they won't get him. So, it's anyone's guess at this point.

I think he’s retired. He has plenty of other sticks in the fire; sailing, vintage racing, etc. and that’s what he plays with going forward.

If just retirement, then why would they announce it now? They could simply do it nicely at end of the season with probably an other wdc&wcc in the bag.

My feeling is that he is not decided yet, but wanted to announce he will be free so he can consider his options.

Probably because Newey might have already signed on the dotted line with a new team, and Red Bull would want to put their spin on things. As it's the anniversary of Senna's death today, I'd expect nothing to be officially confirmed by Newey today on what he's doing next.

If I were in Red Bull Management, I would be fighting tooth and nail to prevent Newey from going to Ferrari or Mercedes before 2026. The fact that Red Bull let this happen, may indicate he's going to a less threatening team???

[coaster]

Ferrari is all the gossip, but with Eddie giving counsel to Adrian I will propose;
1/ Ed was distraught at his teams sale to Midland, its unfinished business.
2/ Adrian helped Honda repackage the PU and thus help change their fortunes.
3/ Adrian has stated on 2 separate ocassions the he turned down Ferrari citing his desire to remain in the UK.
4/ Aramco has brought a majority stake in Aston Martin F1 bringing a warchest of funding.
5/ Honda is giving full works backing.
Adrian is a sentimental guy with freindships being a key part of his character.
Factory in the uk, close freind mediating the deal and both having close ties to Honda, I'm just saying dont rule it out.

[myurr]

If I were in Red Bull Management, I would be fighting tooth and nail to prevent Newey from going to Ferrari or Mercedes before 2026. The fact that Red Bull let this happen, may indicate he's going to a less threatening team???

Or that Red Bull are in a position of relative weakness. Newey is one of three people on Red Bull's payroll where his salary doesn't count towards the cost cap. Keeping Newey on until the end of the year prevents Red Bull putting someone else into that slot, so letting him go now means millions more expenditure for the team (presuming they aren't hiring externally to fill the role).

Newey's non-compete clause is likely to be triggered from the point he is placed on gardening leave. Such practice has been common on the exec contracts I've been party to, including my last job, albeit in the finance industry rather than F1. If that's the case, as soon as Newey stops being allowed to carry out his contracted duties then the 1 year timer for his non-compete starts ticking. This is likely why he's a free agent this time next year.

The other alternative (or possibly it's a combination of all these reasons) would be if Newey has agreed to confidentiality over the case with Horner's PA. It's since come to light that she was a shared PA with Newey, so he has a direct relationship with her in that regard, and it's unlikely to be a coincidence that this has all come to a head at the time Horner's transgressions became known. He may strongly disagree with how she's been treated by Horner and Red Bull, but has agreed not to talk to the press about it as part of the deal to let him go now.

[Xyz22]

I linked this in the active suspension thread, as Frank gets into the history of it, but his comments on AN seem appropriate (47:00) and maybe hints at why he’s so good.

Amazing interview. Thank you so much for sharing.

The last minute is exactly what i was trying to say in Ferrari Team thread. There is no one even remotely close to Adrian Newey for that specific reason.

[deadhead]

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/mark ... l-f1-cars/