Helmut Marko pinpoints the main reason behind Adrian Newey's departure from Red Bull

Red Bull's Helmut Marko feels that the major reason behind Adrian Newey's departure from the team was the loss of Dietrich Mateschitz. The Austrian owned the brand and when it came to making the calls, he was the one who had the final say. That, however, changed when Mateschitz died in 2022.

From that point onwards, the decision-making was no longer centralized and more often than not divided, with multiple people now handling what Mateschitz used to do.

Since the owner's death, Red Bull has continued to win. In 2023, it put together the most dominant season in F1 history. In 2024, however, cracks have started to appear. The team went through internal turmoil early in the year and a lot of key personnel have since dropped out.

One of them is Adrian Newey, who will be with Aston Martin in 2025. Helmut Marko, however, feels that the ace designer left more or less because of the change in leadership. Once Dietrich was not there, the Red Bull advisor said Adrian wanted to pursue different challenges. Marko told ORF:

“Of course, with the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, a certain change has taken place. He was basically the only leader. He made quick decisions. He was a charismatic entrepreneur who also had a lot of foresight and was willing to take risks with the racing team." (via Planet F1)

He added:

“And all of that, of course, now… The company and everything else has to be set up differently, because you can’t find another individual like that and he can’t be replaced by just one person. That can also be part of the change. I think that was the main reason for Newey’s decision to look for a new challenge.”

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Red Bull chief perplexed by the money offered to Adrian Newey and others

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko said in the same interview that the team was quite perplexed at the kind of money their rivals were able to give Adrian Newey and others. There was, however, a sense of acceptance as Marko did feel that the departed members had been a part of the team for close to 2 decades, and this kind of churn is normal in the sport.

He said:

“What leaves me a little perplexed are the figures that are offered. We are always struggling with the cost limit. And these employees often receive double or even higher offers. That means we couldn’t keep some of them.”

Marko added:

“Newey was with us for 19 years, Wheatley for 17. They were part of the team, part of the group and part of the club. They were part of the team, part of our success. That hurts, but if they leave for financial reasons, for career reasons, because you can’t keep up with the offers, then that’s the way it goes.”

Red Bull has gone through a lot of brain drain in the last few races. The team is in a phase of rebuilding and it remains to be seen if it can put the pieces together for the future.