Adrian Newey’s departure from Red Bull has been confirmed as the team’s chief technology officer will be leaving in early 2025.
After losing key technical personnel which could destabilise the team, Red Bull also have to deal with the ever-present threat of losing Max Verstappen to Mercedes.
Red Bull must address these primary challenges as they grapple with the departure of design expert Adrian Newey.
‘We have to watch the effect this has on Max Verstappen’
Almost two decades after joining Red Bull, Newey is off for pastures new or, if his good friend Eddie Jordan has this one right, is out to pasture next year.
Although the Briton will remain under the Red Bull umbrella until the first quarter of next year, the team has announced that he will no longer be involved in the Formula 1 project barring attending a handful of grands prix. Instead, he’ll be busy with Red Bull’s RB17.
Despite signing a new two-year contract last year, his choice to depart from the team follows several weeks of speculation.
As demonstrated by Lewis Hamilton earlier this year, it is indeed possible for someone to leave if they truly desire to do so.
It is uncertain whether the Briton will join his fellow countryman at Ferrari for the upcoming season. However, there are strong indications that the Scuderia is currently in the lead to secure Newey’s signature.
Double World Champion Hakkinen warns that the departure of the 25-time championship-winner from Red Bull could potentially be the beginning of more challenges for the team.
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“It is incredible that Adrian has decided to leave the team when we are only a quarter of the way through the 2024 season and at a time when his RB20 car is completely dominating the World Championship with Max Verstappen,” he wrote in his Unibet blog.
There are at least three important reasons why the news of his departure from working on the F1 car is significant, even though he will still be involved in Red Bull’s hypercar road car project – the RB17 – until early 2025.
The first concern is the effect on the team if essential members choose to follow him, either due to internal politics within the team or upon learning that Adrian is joining another team like Ferrari.
The second concern revolves around the potential destabilization of the remaining team due to these events. In the absence of their captain, it is crucial for someone else to step up and assume that role promptly, as failure to do so may result in confusion.
Red Bull’s primary concern lies with their triple World Champion Verstappen, as Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff persistently seeks to attract the Dutchman publicly.
Hakkinen went on to say, “Moreover, it is crucial for us to observe the impact this will have on Max Verstappen, the reigning World Champion.”
While the competitiveness of this year’s car is expected to remain unchanged, and the 2025 car is predicted to undergo evolutionary changes, the 2026 car will be constructed according to an entirely fresh set of regulations.
By the time next year arrives, Adrian will have already begun conceptualizing that design. However, he won’t be present to complete or deliver it, which concerns Max even more as there is a possibility of Adrian joining another team.
Following Lewis Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari, Mercedes currently has an opening. Max is aware that Toto Wolff, the team boss, is committed to reclaiming the top spot in Formula 1 by establishing a team led by the reliable technical expertise of James Allison.
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