There are problems again in paradise for Red Bull: just when it seemed that the ‘bull game’ was in the past after the Christian Horner drama and with the dominance on the track of its drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, now everything indicates that the Austrian team will lose one of its key cogs (no, it’s not Hugh Bird ‘Pajarote’), it’s Adrian Newey.
Red Bull Racing has been with several ‘red flags’ since the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship season began, with the accusations against its director Christian Horner for inappropriate behavior, who also had a dispute with Jos Verstappen, the father of his three-time champion who asked for his departure.
In addition, rumors of the departure of his sports advisor Helmut Marko, which in turn opened the door to other speculation about the departure of ‘Mad Max’ to Mercedes out of loyalty to the former Austrian driver who took him to Red Bull.
Outside of the paddock comments, some have left, like Lee Stevenson, the crew chief who announced before the Japanese Grand Prix that he was leaving for another team, but the Newey’s departure could change the game in F1.
Is Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull at the end of the 2024 season?
At the end of last March, Motorsport stated that during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Adrian Newey received another millionaire Aston Martin job offerthe team of millionaire Lawrence Stroll.
That is not new, being one of the most coveted characters in Formula 1, Newey has received several proposals in the last 20 years.
However, the 65-year-old designer from Milton Keynes appears to have more his negotiation with Ferrari advancedaccording to the medium Auto Motor und Sportaccording to his publication on April 25 where he explains that this will be the “next bomb on the market of Formula 1 transfers.
Ferrari has already signed Lewis Hamilton for 2025, a seven-time world champion eager to return to the top of Formula 1, in addition to renewing Charles Leclerc ‘Il Predestinato’ and now he’s going for the dominant car on the track.
Auto Motor und Sport states that the star designer Adrian Newey “is now the center of attention” and is expected to soon announce his Red Bull march.
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Why does Adrian Newey want to end his contract with Red Bull Racing?
The problem does not seem to be the salary Auto Motor und Sport The designer is said to have a salary that rivals that of top drivers and rumors suggest he earns around £10m a year.
However, Red Bull’s internal crisis has him uncomfortable, according to said media: “It is said that Newey is discontent with the power struggle within the team and does not want to be completely relegated from the RB17 hypercar project. The purebred engineer still has his heart set on Formula 1, and although Newey no longer designs every bolt of the car on his beloved drawing board, he still being the genius behind the concept of the seven world champion cars of the British team.”
BBC Sport He also announced that he had already notified the team: “Newey, considered the best Formula 1 designer in history, has informed Red Bull who wants to leave”.
According to both media, His contract with Red Bull ends in 2025although he could negotiate an early exit to leave at the end of this season.
“Unofficially it is known that Ferrari has an open check for himalthough Aston Martin has also tried it,” adds Luis Manuel López, a journalist from Fox Sports.
Motorsport Consider that if he goes to Maranello, the designer could study the 2026 chassis regulations for Ferrari, which is not yet fully known.
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Who is Adrian Newey, Red Bull car designer and what career does he have?
Red Bull describes Adrian Newey as the “the most successful designer in the history of Formula 1″, in the team he is the Global Technical Director and has won 11 constructors’ titles and directed the championships of several drivers in addition to Max Verstappen, who has already had 3 with the team’s car.
Newey studied aeronautics at the University of Southampton, before Red Bull he was in the F1 teams of Fittipaldi, March, McLaren and Williams. His projects have also won in IndyCar and He arrived at Red Bull Racing in 2006.
Auto Motor und Sport mentions: “It is something more than an aerodynamics genius. She is one of the few people in the industry who has a complete view of the car. “No one in the sector understands as much about the optimal use of tires, the importance of mechanics and car set-up.”
Verstappen has also said that he is a key person at Red Bull: “You can’t replace Adrian, because there is only one Adrian.”
Meanwhile, ‘Checo’ has also commented on the work of Newey, whom he called a historic engineer: “Working with him, the personal relationship with him has been incredible.”
In September 2023, the designer mentioned to the podcast Beyond The Grid that he would like to see Fernando Alonso (who has just renewed with Aston Martin) next to Verstappen.
“A duo with a veteran number one and a younger one would be interesting. For example, Fernando is one of the most formidable competitors in history and perhaps famous for not getting along very well with his teammates, let’s say.”
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