Adrian Newey, the “superstar designer” credited with masterminding Red Bull’s dominance of Formula 1, is being tipped to join fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari after confirming his departure from the Austrian outfit.
Newey, 65, said it had been a “great honour to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing’s progress from upstart newcomer to multiple title-winning team” but that “now is an opportune moment to hand that baton over to others and to seek new challenges for myself”.
The former McLaren and Williams designer, whose cars have won 13 drivers’ championships and 12 constructors’ titles since the 1990s, is to leave Red Bull in the first quarter of next year, the team said.
Rumours of his departure had been swirling around the paddock already this season, however, and Italian media reported this week that Newey had held talks in London with Ferrari F1 boss Frederic Vasseur about joining the historic marque.
Such a move would see him link up with seven-time champion Hamilton, whom Vasseur persuaded to leave Mercedes and john Ferrari next season.
Red Bull principal Christian Horner, who has worked alongside Newey since the team’s establishment in 2005, hailed his close friend.
“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,” said Horner.
“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.”
Newey’s impending exit will raise further questions about the future of Horner, whose position has come under pressure amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards another Red Bull employee.
Horner was cleared by an independent investigation, but the decision was appealed by the other party and the process remains ongoing.
“The past 19 years with Adrian have been enormous fun. For me, when Adrian joined Red Bull, he was already a superstar designer,” Horner added.
“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.”