Adrian Newey lifts lid on Christian Horner agreement behind continued Red Bull involvement

What will be the performance of Christian Horner and Red Bull in F1 2025 and in the future without Adrian Newey?

Adrian Newey has lifted the lid on his agreement with Christian Horner that will see him remain involved with Red Bull even after he officially leaves the company in 2025.

Red Bull announced in May that Newey will leave in early 2025, having masterminded the team’s astronomical success in F1 with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

Adrian Newey details Christian Horner Red Bull RB17 agreement

Even though Newey is no longer involved in the Formula 1 operation, the 65-year-old continues to attend F1 2024 races with Red Bull and work on the RB17 hypercar project. This project was revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last month.

Aston Martin, former title sponsors of Red Bull, seem to have outpaced Ferrari and McLaren in the race to sign Newey. Recent reports suggest a three-year contract valued at $100 million has been “finalized.”

Next month, an announcement is anticipated regarding Newey’s future. His manager, Eddie Jordan, a former F1 team owner, has negotiated his Red Bull departure terms. These terms permit him to commence work with his new employers immediately as of F1 2025, foregoing the usual gardening leave period typically stipulated in F1 staff contracts.

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Although Newey is officially severing ties with Red Bull, he will persist in supervising the development and distribution of the RB17, of which 50 models are slated for sale, even after his departure.

Appearing on Red Bull’s in-house Talking Bull podcast, Newey opened up on the “really difficult decision” to leave the team.

He elaborated on the pact between him, Horner, and other senior figures at Red Bull. This pact guarantees his continued involvement in the RB17 project even after his departure. Newey is too deeply committed to the project to completely disengage.

He stated, “The decision was truly challenging, extremely tough, but it was one I believed I had to make due to various reasons.”

However, the upside is that I also felt the need for a bit of a break, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

However, this also implies that I can devote my entire attention to RB17 from now until next year, and even beyond that time.

Once I formally end my time with Red Bull, Christian, the shareholders, and all the senior figures at Red Bull and I are in agreement that I will maintain my involvement with RB17. This will include communication through email and phone calls, as well as participating in dyno tests and track testing once they commence.

“I’ve invested so much time and energy into this car as a passion project, mostly during evenings and weekends, that it’s impossible for me to abandon it now.”

There has been a lot of speculation about Newey’s next move in recent months. Reports indicate that Aston Martin may be in the lead to secure his services, after Ferrari reportedly hesitated over his demands for control of the engineering department.

When questioned about the heavy media scrutiny, Newey admitted that he has ignored the motor-racing press since he botched the design of the 1989 Leyton House car, a mistake which caused his reputation to plummet from “hero to idiot.”

He stated, “That part is quite simple, as I don’t typically engage with social media nor do I frequently read magazines.”

I ceased that activity quite some time ago. Back in my days at Leyton House, when we were a small team, I built my first car in 1988. It turned out to be a decent vehicle, actually.

Then, in ’89, we totally botched it. I transitioned from being the fresh hero of the Formula 1 paddock in engineering to the fool who was just a one-hit wonder.

“I realized that it’s not fair to enjoy the press when it’s favorable and then be upset when it’s not. So, I decided to stop reading the press.”

My wife, Mandy, stays informed about social media happenings and keeps me updated. However, I remain largely unaware and aim to live my life without being swayed by it.

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