Formula 1 Rumor: Newey to leave Red Bull

Red Bull design chief Adrian Newey is to leave the team because he has been pushed aside and is no longer calling the shots of the Red Bull F1 car design

Newey, regarded as the greatest Formula 1 designer in history, has told Red Bull he wants to move on, BBC Sport has learned.

Newey is said to be dissatisfied with his current role within Red Bull. Although he is still seen by many as the mastermind of recent cars, insiders have been saying for a while that Pierre Waché took over that role as the big brain behind the cars.

Adrian Newey had zero input into the design of the Red Bull RB20. If fact, he never saw it until it was unveiled. Pierre Wache leads the design team now. Newey is old school and out of touch now. He was shut out so he does not take the latest Red Bull design secrets to a new team.

Newey is focusing much more on the RB17 Hypercar Horner said last year that Newey spent only 50 percent of the time working on the car.

Sources around the top team previously stated that Newey did not actually see this season’s car, the RB20, for the first time until the presentation in Milton Keynes in February.

Red Bull and Newey did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Despite only signing a fresh Red Bull deal last year, Newey’s future at the Milton Keynes squad has been the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks.

The real brains behind the Red Bull car design – Pierre Wache, Chief Engineer of Performance Engineering at Red Bull Racing looks on from the pit wall during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on November 24, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

The British design chief has been strongly linked with Ferrari and is known to have been made an offer by Aston Martin, but he is likely to be of interest to all leading teams now his availability is known.

Newey’s contract with Red Bull lasts until the end of 2025 but he is said to believe he can negotiate an exit that allows him to work with another team from next season.

His desire to leave Red Bull was first reported by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, but the information has been independently verified by BBC Sport with high-level sources close to Red Bull and Newey.

Red Bull Racing say that “they are unaware of any official communication from Adrian Newey notifying of his intention to serve notice and to leave Red Bull Racing.”

Sky reporter Craig Slater also makes note that Adrian Newey’s contract with Red Bull is until the end of 2025.

He however needs to serve a year of gardening leave after that which means that under those terms, he would not be able to join another Formula 1 team until 2027.