Christian Horner breaks silence on Red Bull's preparedness for Adrian Newey's departure after he almost left for Ferrari in 2014

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has opened up on the team's preparedness for Adrian Newey's departure after the star designer had almost left the squad in 2014 for Ferrari. Newey's tryst with the Italian team has gone on throughout his F1 career.

He's had talks with the team throughout his career, but things have never truly materialized into the two parties reaching a common ground. Before the 2024 F1 season, the last time the two parties came very close to an association was in 2014 when Red Bull was stuck with an uncompetitive Renault power unit as the French manufacturer was unwilling to invest the resources into making it better.

During this time, coming off a four-year dominant run, the Austrian team was looking at a tense future where it was severely handicapped in terms of the car. It was also during this time that lead driver Sebastian Vettel decided that he wanted to go to Ferrari and try something else.

When that call was made, Ferrari was also in advanced talks with Adrian Newey, in front of whom Luca di Montezemolo had kept a blank cheque, ready to accept whatever demand was put in front of him.

While talks did fall through between Adrian Newey and Ferrari, this was something that alerted Christian Horner and Red Bull to prepare for a future without the ace designer. As quoted by Racingnews365, Horner shared how the team was already preparing for a future without Newey as he said:

"It is an evolution, but of course, there are headline names and Adrian in particular has played a massive role in the success that we've achieved. But really since 2014, when he nearly left to go to Ferrari, we had to be prepared for one day when he would either decide to retire or step away - and that day came [in 2024]."

"We'll look back with tremendous fondness and gratitude at the time Adrian had with us, but it is evolution, likewise with Jonathan Wheatley having the opportunity to progress his own career."

---

Red Bull looking to extract the untapped potential of other drivers

Christian Horner claimed that he didn't treat the high-profile exit of some of the key personnel as a setback but as an opportunity to tap the untapped potential of others. With both Newey and Wheatley gone, this allows the others to take over the mantle and take things forward. He said:

"It is untapped potential in the others having to step up, which we've seen them doing and they bring a renewed enthusiasm, determination and commitment. We have less than 4% turnover in staff, which is way below the national average (16.8% in the UK), and it is probably lower than any team in Formula 1. We do our best to look after, nurture and cultivate them."

Red Bull will be racing in 2025 for the first time without Adrian Newey since 2006 when the star designer joined the team. All eyes would be on how the Austrian team copes with such a massive loss to the team.