Red Bull confirm early exit of F1 design guru Adrian Newey

Red Bull have officially confirmed that legendary F1 car designer Adrian Newey will leave the team in 2025.

Newey is set to depart his role as chief technical officer at the reigning world champions "in the first quarter of 2025", Red Bull announced on Wednesday morning. 

The 65-year-old, considered one of the sport's greatest technical masterminds, will step back from his day-to-day F1 design duties with immediate effect. 

Newey is set to continue to attend select races through the remainder of the 2024 F1 season while focusing on the RB17 hypercar project before his exit. 

"Ever since I was a young boy, I wanted to be a designer of fast cars," Newey said. "My dream was to be an engineer in Formula One, and I’ve been lucky enough to make that dream a reality. 

"For almost two decades it has been my great honour to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing’s progress from upstart newcomer to multiple title-winning Team. However, I feel now is an opportune moment to hand that baton over to others and to seek new challenges for myself. 

"In the interim, the final stages of development of RB17 are upon us, so for the remainder of my time with the Team my focus will lie there. I would like to thank the many amazing people I have worked with at Red Bull in our journey over the last 18 years for their talent, dedication and hard work. 

"It has been a real privilege, and I am confident that the engineering Team are well prepared for the work going into the final evolution of the car under the four-year period of this regulation set. 

"On a personal note, I would also like to thank the shareholders, the late Dietrich Mateschitz, Mark Mateschitz and Chalerm Yoovidhya for their unwavering support during my time at Red Bull, and Christian, who has not only been my business partner but also a friend of our respective families. 

"Also, thanks to Oliver Mintzlaff for his stewardship and Eddie Jordan, my close friend and manager."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner paid tribute to Newey's legacy at the Milton Keynes squad. 

“All of our greatest moments from the past 20 years have come with Adrian’s hand on the technical tiller," he said. "His vision and brilliance have helped us to 13 titles in 20 seasons. 

"His exceptional ability to conceptualise beyond F1 and bring wider inspiration to bear on the design of grand prix cars, his remarkable talent for embracing change and finding the most rewarding areas of the rules to focus on, and his relentless will to win have helped Red Bull Racing to become a greater force than I think even the late Dietrich Mateschitz might have imagined." 

Newey was understood to have been contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2025, meaning he has successfully been able to negotiate an early exit. 

It has been reported that the 65-year-old has sought to remove a contract clause which theoretically would stop him working for another team until 2027. 

Newey has been heavily linked with a switch to Ferrari.