Red Bull Racing have confirmed their lead designer Adrian Newey will leave the Formula 1 outfit in the first quarter of 2025. Widely regarded as the greatest designer in F1 history, Newey’s departure brings an end to an era that saw Red Bull become a dominant force in F1 circuit.
Newey, the Chief Technical Officer at Red Bull Racing, joined the team in 2006 and formed a winning partnership with team principal Christian Horner that resulted in seven drivers world championship titles and six constructors championships titles.
Newey will no longer be involved in design duties and now focus on the delivery of Red Bull’s first hypercar RB17.
“Ever since I was a young boy, I wanted to be a designer of fast cars. My dream was to be an engineer in Formula One, and I’ve been lucky enough to make that dream a reality,” Newey said in a statement on Wednesday. “For almost two decades it has been my great honour to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing’s progress from upstart newcomer to multiple title-winning Team.”
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As per reports, Newey had a contract with Red Bull till the end of 2025 but successfully negotiated an early exit.
“I feel now is an opportune moment to hand that baton over to others and to seek new challenges for myself. In the interim, the final stages of development of RB17 are upon us, so for the remainder of my time with the Team my focus will lie there. I would like to thank the many amazing people I have worked with at Red Bull in our journey over the last 18 years for their talent, dedication and hard work. It has been a real privilege, and I am confident that the engineering Team are well prepared for the work going into the final evolution of the car under the four-year period of this regulation set,” Newey said.
Horner paid rich tributes to Newey, calling him a ‘true legend’ and a friend to whom he will be eternally grateful.
“All of our greatest moments from the past 20 years have come with Adrian’s hand on the technical tiller. His vision and brilliance have helped us to 13 titles in 20 seasons. His exceptional ability to conceptualise beyond F1 and bring wider inspiration to bear on the design of grand prix cars, his remarkable talent for embracing change and finding the most rewarding areas of the rules to focus on, and his relentless will to win have helped Red Bull Racing to become a greater force than I think even the late Dietrich Mateschitz might have imagined,” Horner said.
“More than that, the past 19 years with Adrian have been enormous fun. For me, when Adrian joined Red Bull, he was already a superstar designer. Two decades and 13 Championships later he leaves as a true legend. He is also my friend and someone I will be eternally grateful to for everything he brought to our partnership. The legacy he leaves behind will echo through the halls of Milton Keynes and RB17 Track Car will be a fitting testament and legacy to his time with us,” he added.
