Zak Brown predicts Adrian Newey just “the first domino to fall” at Red Bull

McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown believes Adrian Newey will not be the last person to leave Red Bull after the recent controversy surrounding the team.

Newey, F1’s most successful car designer, will leave Red Bull in the first quarter of 2025 after negotiating an early exit from the team in the wake of the allegations made against team principal Christian Horner.

The 65-year-old is believed to have become disillusioned with Red Bull’s rumoured internal infighting and turmoil that has engulfed the reigning world champions since the start of the season.

Newey appeared to allude to this when asked about the timing of his decision to leave Red Bull in an interview with Sky, responding: “I guess over the winter a little bit and then as events have unfolded this year”.

Speaking about Newey’s impending departure, Brown said: "Am I surprised? Six months ago, I would have been surprised.

"But given everything that's gone on since the start of the year and knowing Adrian pretty well, and he's a very high-integrity individual, I'm not surprised he's moving on.

"I think the stuff that's going on there is a bit destabilising. That's probably the first domino to fall, my guess is not the last based on the resumes that are flying around.”

Brown claimed that McLaren have received resumes from Red Bull employees since the drama surrounding the team began.

"We have seen an increase in CVs coming our way from the team and I think Adrian is the most successful designer of all time,” he said.

"So in addition to the technical [quality] that he brings to the racing team, people want to work for people like Adrian and work alongside him.

"So I think they will be missing what he brings to the team from a pure technical point of view and then I think the leadership and the excitement people get from working with him will be missed.”

But a Red Bull spokesperson told BBC Sport: “In the past few months, all our technical leadership team have signed long-term contracts committing to Red Bull Racing.

“So we’re not sure what CVs Zak is referring to but we don’t foresee any significant loss and certainly not the domino effect Zak is hoping for.”

Brown appeared to play down the possibility of McLaren making a move for Newey, stressing: “As far as McLaren is concerned, I'm very happy with all the work the men and women at McLaren are doing.

"I think we've started to show since the second half of last year that they know how to put performance on the car, so I've got all the faith in the world with the team that we have.

"We're on a quest to get back to the front and I think we have the people, the talent, the equipment, the drivers to get there. So we're going to just stay the course."