Adrian Newey set to leave Red Bull as reports of his shock exit emerge

Red Bull aero wizard Adrian Newey is set to leave the Milton Keynes squad. In a report published by the German publication AMuS, the 65-year-old technical director has been disillusioned by internal politics and hence is looking to move on from the AustrIan outfit.

Adrian Newey has been part of Red Bull since 2006 when he moved from McLaren. Since then, he has been a key member of the Austrian team’s success. The team won its first race in 2009 and dominated the circuit from 2010 to 2013 with Sebastian Vettel behind the wheel.

After getting balked by the Turbo hybrid V6s, Red Bull bounced back in 2021 to win the driver's title and has since dominated the sport. The 2024 F1 season, however, has seen a lot of political turmoil at the team. There has been a reported power battle at the top with Christian Horner being a target. While it does appear that things have calmed down a bit, the underlying unrest still remains.

Adrian Newey has been a name that has made the rounds recently in the transfer market. He was recently spotted in Bologna, even though it was later revealed that he was in Mugello for the race. As reported by AMuS, however, the Red Bull chief might be on his way out of the team, with an announcement coming soon. The report reads,

"After Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, the focus is now on star designer Adrian Newey. The 65-year-old Englishman is expected to announce his departure from Red Bull soon."

"Newey is said to be unhappy about the power struggle in the team and does not want to be completely pushed into the RB17 hypercar project. The thoroughbred engineer's heart still lies in Formula 1. Even though Newey is no longer designing every screw of the car on his beloved drawing board, he is still the brilliant mind behind the concept of the British racing team's seven world champion cars."

What next for Adrian Newey after leaving Red Bull?

There is a lack of clarity on where Newey would go in case he leaves Red Bull. Rumors have linked the aero wizard to teams like Ferrari, where he was spotted in Bologna. He has even been linked with Aston Martin, where Lawrence Stroll reportedly offered him a massive paycheque.

Additionally, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff would be more than happy to snatch Christian Horner's prize possession from him. The future of the 65-year-old is going to be tough to determine because Adrian Newey is at an advanced age and has the best possible environment to work in Red Bull.

Whether he gets something similar at a team like Aston Martin, Mercedes or Ferrari is a tough question to answer. It also remains to be seen what kind of commitment Newey is willing to make should he make a switch. Interesting times ahead for F1 as the most dominant team on the grid would suffer a massive blow if this happens.