Christian Horner: Aston Martin celebrated Adrian Newey arrival 'prematurely'
Red Bull boss Christian Horner reacts to Aston Martin's Adrian Newey announcement, writes Lewis Larkam in Baku.
Christian Horner says Aston Martin celebrated F1 design legend Adrian Newey’s arrival “slightly prematurely” given he is still under contract with Red Bull.
Aston Martin officially confirmed Newey’s signing on Tuesday with a major press conference held at their state-of-the-art factory at Silverstone ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Newey negotiated an early exit from his current Red Bull deal in order to start work with Aston Martin in March 2025 but he remains under contract, despite already stepping back from his F1-related duties.
Aston Martin announced the signing of Newey, who was in attendance at Silverstone along with the team’s top brass including owner Lawrence Stroll, as well as drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
“It was obviously a large announcement by Aston,” Horner told media including Crash.net in Friday’s press conference in Baku.
“Adrian has always tended to do his own thing. It was a big moment for that team and they chose to celebrate it, perhaps potentially slightly prematurely before he’s finished his contract with Red Bull Racing.
“But obviously it was a big moment for that team.”
Horner added: “It wasn’t a great surprise. It was becoming clearer and clearer that was the route he was going to go rather than into retirement or any other team.
“Obviously it will be a new challenge for him and we’ll be sad when he leaves next year. But we wish him all the best for the future and look back with great fondness the 20 years almost that we spent together and the highs and lows during that period.
“We look forward to the future and we’re well positioned for that.”
Horner praised Newey’s “unique” working style and says Aston Martin will undoubtedly benefit from his experience.
“Adrian is a very creative guy,” Horner said. “He’s not your average designer. I think he’s the only person in F1 still working on a drawing board.
“Inevitably there will be a process of getting to know each other, how each other work and so on. But he is unique in many respects. Aston will look to draw upon his huge experience.”
