Adrian Newey, Formula 1’s most successful designer, explained how he felt Red Bull wanted to prove it could “get there alone” contributed to his decision to leave.
Red Bull announced earlier this season that Newey would leave the team in the spring of 2025 to end a nearly two-decade run that saw 13 titles won.
The Briton has since signed a deal with Aston Martin F1 to oversee its technical department as a technical partner.
Rumors emerged that Newey’s unease over the tension at Red Bull ahead of the start of the current season had played a role in his imminent departure.
Newey, however, is adamant that his desire to take on a new challenge as F1 prepares to embark on a regulatory overhaul in 2026 was the driving force behind his choice.
“There comes a time when I feel like I need new challenges. The team has reached a good level of maturity. Red Bull is a very mature engineering organization, as is the rest of the team .”
“So in a way, I kind of did my part and started to feel like we had kind of come to the end of our collaboration.”
“I think the guys also felt that maybe they needed to show that they could do it on their own. So I thought, ‘Okay, let’s give them a chance and me a chance. new challenge’ Red Bull wants to show that it can do it alone, without me, and that’s understandable.”
Newey, 65, admitted he could never have imagined he would still be involved in the sport at his current age as he prepares to take on a new full-time role.
“I think if I go back 15 years, certainly 20 years, and ask myself, ‘Would I want to work past 60?’ Probably not. ‘Would I want to work beyond 65?’ Absolutely not.”
“But then you get there, and there are a few things. First of all, maybe, I don’t know, maybe I’m guilty of defining myself too much, and I worry about what I would do if I didn’t.”
“But I don’t think that’s really the case in my case. It’s mainly that I like the challenge, I love it, the career that I’ve always dreamed of since I was little, I have had the chance to make it. I still enjoy it.”
“It’s just about finding the right balance so as not to be devoured, because Formula 1 can be all-consuming. And with that, of course, comes compromises, especially family life, friends, etc. And that That’s where the difficulty lies.”
