"I have no idea but we will find a way" - Red Bull boss discloses shocking details of when Adrian Newey was going to leave for Ferrari

Red Bull boss Christian Horner recently revealed shocking details of when the team's aero wizard Adrian Newey was going to leave for Ferrari. Although the Austrian team are going through a purple patch right now and winning everything, it wasn't always looking great for the team.

After dominating the sport from 2010 to 2013, Red Bull was caught off-guard in 2014 as the Renault power unit was all over the place. The power unit was so bad that they had no chance to compete with Mercedes for the title or in any way. This was the down period when even the team's lead driver Sebastian Vettel left the team and moved to Ferrari.

It was at this time that it became clear that Red Bull was going to need some time to regroup and get back to being competitive at the front. This was also the period that saw Ferrari come after Adrian Newey with all the benefits in the world.

In an interview on the Eff Won Podcast, Christian Horner revealed that the team was very close to losing its star designer to the Italian team. He said:

“We went from winning ‘10, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13, four on the bounce and then a massive regulation change to the engine. Our engine supplier completely missed the target. At that point, Sebastian Vettel leaves because of the engine. Adrian came very close to leaving. He was about half-an-hour [from making a decision]."

He added:

"Ferrari came hard from him and they promised him the world - ‘you can have a Hollywood lifestyle, fly into the factory from Monaco every day, not pay any tax, you can design a road car. I managed to persuade him to stay by saying: ‘We will do a road car, if you want to do a road car then we will do a road car!’”

The Red Bull boss reveals how he had to try the innovative method of approaching Aston Martin and convincing them of a collaboration. He said:

" He said: ‘How?’ I said: ‘I have no idea but we will find a way, we will make it happen’. Through the relationship we had with Aston Martin, I went to their CEO and said: ‘We have arguably the best designer of all time, you are a great brand, we aren’t going to finance the car but it makes sense to bring these things together’."

He added:

"It enabled Adrian to fulfil his ambition and kept him in the team. It wasn’t losing sight that, if we could just sort the engine issue, we’d be back in a winning position.”

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Red Bull driver reveals what kind of a team principal he would be

In an interview with Blick, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was questioned what kind of a team principal he would be to which he said he would be a bit old-fashioned.

After spending years under Christian Horner and Franz Tost, Max said:

"I would be a no-bullshit boss for sure. Maybe a bit old-fashioned because it's all related to performance and not how connected you are to social networks. I just want to win because that stops all the talk around it. And that is the most important thing for me."

Red Bull has recovered since those days and found its way back to glory. The team has redefined dominance and continues to do so in this new era.