Would Christian Horner be “more worried” if Adrian Newey joined Ferrari or McLaren?

Red Bull Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner says the squad is “focused on ourselves” and not dwelling on any potential Aston Martin threat following its signing of Adrian Newey.

Newey was an instrumental figure in Red Bull’s championship success with Sebastian Vettel between 2010 and 2013, and latterly with Max Verstappen between 2021 and 2023.

Red Bull confirmed earlier in the year that Newey would be leaving the team, with Aston announcing on Tuesday ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that it had secured the famed designer for 2025.

Newey’s departure to Aston comes as Red Bull’s form has fallen away in 2024, with McLaren closing in on it in both championship battles.

When asked by Sky F1 if he was less worried about Newey joining "less of a threat" Aston compared to a direct rival, Horner said: “If they come up with a rocket ship and Lance Stroll wins a championship in 2026, you’ll say it was the right thing.

“Look, all we can do is wish him the best of luck in the future.

“It’s a team with huge ambition, Lawrence Stroll is a very motivated guy.

“But they’re not the only competitor: Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren. They’re all strong teams. So, we’re focused on ourselves.”

Horner believes Red Bull has “great strength and depth” within its technical team to continue being successful beyond Newey’s departure.  

“First and foremost, Adrian was with us for almost 20 years and we had some great times in that period,” he said.

“He’s a friend, he’s godfather to my daughter and we achieved some great things in that time.

“During the last probably eight to nine years, he came pretty close to leaving in 2014, and from that moment onwards we need to make sure that we were in a position so if he was to depart that we were in a position to pick up the mantle and the baton and run with it.

“Obviously he’s been involved in other projects during that period, like Valkyrie and now the RB17, so when he chose to go to Aston, for skin in the game, for shareholding, I understand the whole structure is essentially going to report into him, he still feels he has that motivation.

“And all we can do is wish him the best of luck.

“But, we’ll look back with great fondness of the time he was with us but life carries on.

“We’ve got a great team, we’ve got great strength and depth. Manchester United didn’t stop winning when Eric Cantona left.

“Everything has to evolve, and I think we have that strength and depth to carry on that baton.”