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Well, it's official now, Adrian Newey will leave Red Bull at the end of the first quarter of 2025. With that, he will end a 19-year partnership with the team filled with success.
Adrian Newey joined the team in 2006, a time when he was even contemplating retirement. He oversaw a four-year dominant run that saw Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull win the title.
Since 2021, Newey has been a reinvigorated force in F1, and the RB19 and RB20 are cars that are levels above what the competition could put together.
The partnership has now ended, though, and the first question that comes to mind is who's the biggest winner and loser. Let's take a look.
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Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull
Winner
Ferrari
If reports are to be believed, and they do seem credible for now, Adrian Newey might be heading to Ferrari. The announcement could come as early as this weekend, after the F1 Miami GP. For the Italian team, this would be one big scoop after another.
Fred Vasseur lured Lewis Hamilton away from Mercedes early in the year, and if he brings Adrian Newey to the team as well, we are looking at the formation of a dream team.
Whether Newey can accomplish similar results like at Red Bull is a question mark for now, but for Ferrari, the team is doing everything possible to get the best combination in place to get the results.
Loser
Red Bull
Without a doubt, Red Bull is going to feel this one. For a long time, Adrian Newey has appeared to be a part of this big, happy family. He, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko were the glue that held the team together.
Sure, he taken a step back in terms of not being as hands-on as he used to be, but his imprints are still on the car, and his leaving is surely going to have an effect. It could even lead to the departure of a few key personnel as well.
Winner
Lewis Hamilton
One time lucky, but doing it two times must be a skill. Lewis Hamilton has seemingly done it again, as he might have timed his move away from Mercedes to Ferrari with perfection.
Even if Adrian Newey were not coming to Ferrari, the team is already on an upward trajectory in terms of results anyway. But if Newey comes, we're looking at a super team being put together at Maranello.
Loser
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen has driven Adrian Newey's cars for a long time now, and he will be the first to acknowledge that this is a big loss for Red Bull. It's a big loss for Verstappen as well, as he reportedly himself tries to find a way out of Red Bull.
It would have been an amazing combination if Verstappen had found a way to Mercedes, but alongside him was Adrian Newey. That way, one could almost imagine a scenario where Mercedes could have had a revival of sorts. In the current scheme of things, it appears that Verstappen won't have Newey building magical creations for him anymore.
Winner
F1
Amidst all this, one can't help but feel F1 supremo Stefano Domenicali enjoying what's going on right now. Before the start of the season, the sport had an ominously perfect team in Red Bull.
It had the best driver, the best team principal, the best car designer, the best operational team and the best strategic unit. The same team won all but one race last year, and if it repeats the same in 2024, not many will be surprised.
Amidst all this, the entire mess with Newey leaving is just the boost that F1 needs. A sport feeds on change, it feeds on something new. We're having that as the on-track stuff continues to be less and less engaging.
Loser
Christian Horner's reputation
If there's someone who could have done without this news, it certainly is Christian Horner.
Even though the press release from Red Bull saw both Horner and Adrian Newey term each other 'friend', it's diiffcult to see how the conversation would have been friendly between the two when it came to the resignation.
