Adrian Newey's decision to leave Red Bull is due to personal issue around Christian Horner controversy - Reports

F1 pundit Mark Hughes has claimed that Red Bull CTO Adrian Newey might potentially leave the Austrian team due to personal reasons involving the Christian Horner saga.

Many outlets have reported that the aero wizard has already told the team that he will leave them at the end of the season after almost 20 years with the world champions. Newey has guided the team to all of their 13 championships, including seven driver's and six constructor's titles.

However, the current internal power struggles within Red Bull have allegedly left the 65-year-old discontented. The Race's Mark Hughes has claimed that the issue is based on the much-publicized Horner saga involving a female employee who reportedly served as his and Adrian Newey's PA.

The F1 pundit wrote:

"It’s not as if Newey would be departing because of a general malaise within the team, either; this is very much a personal issue based around the Christian Horner controversy regarding the employee who served as PA to both Horner and Newey."

Hughes also pointed out that several teams, including rivals Mercedes and Ferrari, may be interested in Newey's services, but that there is no evidence of interest so far.

"As for what Newey’s plans beyond leaving the team might be, there’s been a natural assumption that he wishes to make a move - to Ferrari, or Aston Martin, or even Mercedes. But that’s not something we can assume. There is no intelligence leaking out from anywhere that he has any sort of agreement with another team."

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Sky Sports F1 pundit chimes in on Adrian Newey's potential exit from Red Bull

Sky Sports F1 pundit Craig Slater stated that Adrian Newey had also started to distance himself away from team principal Christian Horner.

As per Sky Sports, Slater said:

"I have been reporting for the last few months that the key relationship at Red Bull between Newey and Horner has cooled. There has been more of a distance between them over these last months than there has been previously and that has had to do with some of the friction going on behind the scenes at Red Bull."

He also pointed out that arguably the most successful aerodynamicist in F1 history may not have been pleased with recent comments from Red Bull.

"The perceived power struggle there and also with the fact that Newey on occasion, given certain comments that have been made, has had his role within the team and his influence on designing these championship-winning cars perhaps rather undervalued with some of the comments that have come out from Red Bull," Slater said.

However, Red Bull has thus far denied any reports of Adrian Newey joining any other team on the grid, stating that he had a contract with them until the end of the 2025 season.