Soon after communicating his desire to leave Red Bull, Adrian Newey got his wish. News of the separation hit the shelves on May 1st, confirming that the Briton would depart the Austrian team after 18 long years. Now, reports suggest there is an important clause in the exit contract that will exempt the engineer from the mandatory gardening leave.
According to Motorsport-Total, Newey’s legal team successfully negotiated with Red Bull to remove his gardening leave period in exchange for the 65-year-old silence on Christian Horner’s “inappropriate behavior” case. As a result of this negotiation, Newey will now be free to join another team after the first quarter of 2025.
As per the report, “Newey agreed not to talk about his opinion on the “Horner affair” – even in interviews after the breakup. In return, he was accommodated at “gardening leave“. The report then adds that even before the “inappropriate behavior” case involving Horner came to light, not all was well between the 50-year-old and Newey.
“Horner changed with the death of Dietrich Mateschitz. He is said to have exuded more power consciousness and to have portrayed himself as the linchpin of Red Bull’s success in Formula 1, especially towards the now even more powerful Yoovidhya clan, the majority owners from Thailand,” reads the report.
Moreover, even the BBC reported that the allegations against Horner resulted in a power struggle in the Red Bull camp, with the 50-year-old on one side and Helmut Marko on the other. That’s not it, as Horner also diminished Adrian Newey’s input when it came to the design of the cars.
As a result of the growing turmoil at Milton Keynes, Newey decided to leave. Now, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the legendary aerodynamicist.
Eddie Jordan gives insight into the future of Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey is now leaving and will be available to share his genius insights with any team of his choice from 2025 onwards. However, his friend and manager, Eddie Jordan, believes that the 65-year-old may decide to take some time off. As quoted by Pit Debrief, Jordan highlighted, “Remember that he’s been in Red Bull under constant pressure”.
Based on this understanding Jordan added, “If he’s going to take time out and just cruise for a while, then everyone would understand that. I think that’s probably [what we’re] more likely to see, rather than diving into any other possible employment career.”
While Jordan has suggested that there is a possibility that Newey could take a hiatus or even retire, the 65-year-old’s keenness to put in so much effort to negotiate his gardening leave may suggest otherwise. There is a high possibility that Newey could decide to join another side, presumably Ferrari, after the first quarter of 2025.
