Adrian Newey explains Red Bull exit with “true to myself” remark

F1 design genius Adrian Newey has revealed his decision to leave Red Bull last year stemmed from being “honest with myself”.

Newey made the shock decision to bow out of Red Bull last year.

The 66-year-old had been part of Red Bull since 2006 as their chief technical officer.

Newey was instrumental in Red Bull’s dominance between 2010 and 2013 with Sebastian Vettel and then more recently with Max Verstappen.

While the exact reasons behind Newey’s departure are unclear, the off-track turmoil surrounding Red Bull likely played a role.

Christian Horner was under investigation in early 2024 for alleged inappropriate behaviour.

This led to intense speculation about Verstappen’s future, which linked him with a move to Mercedes.

In an interview with German publication AMuS, Newey discussed his decision to leave Red Bull but not retire from F1.

“Well I think that goes back slightly. If you said to me 12 months ago that I would be leaving Red Bull and then now ultimately starting again, I’d have said no, you’re crazy,” Newey said.

“But for various reasons I felt I wouldn’t be true to myself if I stayed at Red Bull. The first difficult decision was exactlythat - do I stay or not at Red Bull? We came to the conclusion and being honest with myself I couldn’t.

“Having made that decision it was then what to do next? With my wife Mandy, we discussed various things. I am in the lucky position where I don’t need to work financially.

“It could have been to simply retire and sit on the beach or it could be to do something completely different - America’s Cup or maybe work for one of the OEMs in road cars or stay in racing.

“If I was going to stay in racing then I might as well stay in F1, assuming people wanted me.”

Newey’s big task at Aston Martin

Newey officially starts work at Aston Martin on March 3 in his new role as managing technical partner.

He will play a significant role in helping design Aston Martin’s 2026 F1 car, which is when the new rules are introduced.

Aston Martin will be hoping that Newey is the missing piece as they start to challenge for regular race victories and world championships.

Ahead of the 2025 campaign, Aston Martin have already announced a number of changes to their management team, with Andy Cowell appointed as team principal.

Mike Krack has been moved to a trackside role.