Red Bull recently announced that Adrian Newey will leave the team in early 2025. F1's chief designer has admitted he is feeling tired, and behind the scenes he is also said to be unhappy with internal grumbling at the team.
Newey has resigned from his Formula 1 activities as of now and is now working on the RB17 – Red Bull's supercar, which is set to be unveiled at the Goodwood Festival in July. He will also attend select races this season to support the team's trackside activities.
“Formula 1 is all-consuming,” Newey said recently. Sky Sports F1 About his reasons for leaving Red Bull.
“I've been at it for a long time now. 2021 has been a really busy year due to the tight battle with Mercedes during the championship, and at the same time, taking all the R&D into account.” [RB]18 He is the father of this generation of cars. I think there comes a point – I just felt, as Forrest Gump said: “I'm feeling a little tired.”
When asked how long he had been thinking about the decision, he replied: “For a little while now, if I'm honest. I think the winter is going to take a while, and then, as events have unfolded this year, I thought – I'm in a very lucky position where I don't need to… I work to live, I work because I enjoy it, and as I say, now is the time to step back, take a break and take stock of life.”
Although one might question these statements, Newey certainly wouldn't lie, but he is constantly linked with a move to Ferrari, and perhaps even Aston Martin. If so, his current status helps complete the switch quickly…
Gardening vacation
As things stand, Niue is currently on a disguised gardening vacation. He will remain with the team until early 2025, but once he leaves, he could immediately join a contender at that point. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said in Miami that Newey was no longer in important briefings and had no access to sensitive data.
If Red Bull held him to his contract, Newey would likely not be able to join another team until 2027. His contract with Red Bull runs until 2025 and a gardening sabbatical – away from the team – would usually leave him unable to go elsewhere until later. In 2026, or perhaps even 2027, given his status in Formula 1.
This time, that's not the case. Of course, you can see this as a token of appreciation from Red Bull, especially since Newey means a lot to the team and they owe him a lot, but this only fuels rumors that he wants to join another team soon.
In 2026, the regulations will undergo a major overhaul, so the Briton has the flexibility to potentially influence designs for that new era if he joins the team in early 2025. If, he says, he really wanted a break, he could have accepted the normal departure terms and joined the New team for 2027.
At the moment, it is still unknown whether Newey will remain active in Formula 1 and whether there is a clear reason behind his exit from Red Bull in this way.
Rumors surrounding a move to Ferrari continue, especially since Newey has previously indicated that he would like to work at Scuderia, as well as with Lewis Hamilton. And in 2025, he has a unique opportunity to combine these two desires. Or, as he suggests, is he going to rest after all?
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