In the past two days, the shocking news of Adrian Newey’s desire to leave Red Bull has come to light. This rumor was floating around for months, but now it is edging toward reality. His desire to leave was always a rumor after Christian Horner’s alleged “inappropriate behavior” toward a female employee. Despite being acquitted of the allegations, the Horner situation made a lot of Red Bull higher-ups uncomfortable. Now, these reports about the 65-year-old engineer may inadvertently make the assumption evident.
In his latest coverage for The Race, Mark Hughes highlights it is in fact the Horner controversy that is driving Newey out. However, he says that it is the British designer’s personal choice and stance about the entire matter serving as the motivation behind his wish to leave. So, Newey is ready to leave the championship-winning project because of the unpleasant nature of the controversy.
It is vital to note the female employee who accused Horner of all the wrongdoing was Newey’s assistant as well. So, it is all true, the one person indirectly driving the 25-time championship-winning engineer out is Christian Horner.
The British boss fought and won the battle against his accusers and held onto his position at the helm of Red Bull. However, it’s coming at the cost of losing his closest ally.
However, Hughes believes it won’t affect the performance of the team, at least not instantly. In fact, he believes the veteran engineer’s absence might not be felt at all with Milton Keynes housing extremely talented substitutes more than willing to step up.
“There are a lot of exceptionally talented engineers working in Red Bull’s engineering department. Those who feel like they have stood in Newey’s shadow will be ready to showcase their talent to the world,” he writes. However, even if not on the track, his departure will surely make an impact off the track.
Adrian Newey’s departure might destabilize the entire Red Bull team
It is no secret the internal politics within Red Bull is slowly yet surely gnawing at the entire team. It has had little to no impact on the race performance. However, if Adrian Newey sticks to his desire to leave and does so as soon as possible, it might start a chain reaction. His decision might and will influence other key players in the team like Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman is not married to the team even though he’s tied down with a contract till 2028. He’s still part of the Milton Keynes outfit despite all the drama because it’s a championship-winning team. However, that might change come 2026 as the sport adopts new engine regulations and if the reigning champions lose their genius engineer.
Anyone would lose confidence in a project as fresh as Red Bull Powertrains trying to maneuver the complicated F1 engine regulations without the expertise of Newey. This is why Hughes believes if Newey leaves, Max Verstappen reconsider his future despite being in a powerful position.
He also has an exit clause linked with Helmut Marko, who is not on the best terms with Horner. Marko also admitted he won’t come in anyone’s way trying to sign the Dutch champion.
