With reports frequently surfacing to claim Adrian Newey might be on his way out, the Red Bull camp needs to prepare itself for the eventuality that they would have to continue without the 65-year-old. Should Newey step away, the entire load to continue winning will fall on the shoulders of the team’s Technical Director and Head of Aerodynamics. But who will bear the brunt?
Newey‘s rumored exit is starting to raise questions about the smooth functioning of Red Bull in his absence. With the design genius onboard, the Milton Keynes-based outfit has won six constructors’ titles so far. Thus, losing someone like him is bound to hurt the team’s morale. However, chances are that Red Bull had already started preparing for such a scenario, given the British engineer’s age.
Formula 1 News: Wache, not Newey, the brains behind Red Bull https://t.co/8QbHRtByDM Pierre Wache is the design chief at Red Bull Racing and has led the design of the last two dominating Red Bull F1 Cars. Adrian Newey is old school and just there to bounce ideas off. Newey felt… pic.twitter.com/JjtgrurhXO
— AutoRacing1.com (@AutoRacing1) April 26, 2024
With Christian Horner at the helm, the Austrian team started experiencing a shift in dynamics, with Pierre Wache taking up the role of Technical Director. The move came as a necessary step given the ‘disengagement windows‘ as Motorsport calls it.
Even with Wache in charge, Newey often stole the limelight for all the success. Experts believe it could have led to some discontent within the team. As such, people holding higher positions at Red Bull could have been readying themselves for the departure for long.
Aside from Wache, the technical future of Red Bull is also in the hands of Enrico Balbo – the team’s Head of Aerodynamics. Having failed to poach the services of Pierre Wache, Ferrari shifted their focus to Balbo. Should either one of the two pillars holding Red Bull up high crack, the entire operation could well come crumbling down. Chances are that many other members could run away from the ops as well.
Christian Horner is confident that Adrian Newey exit rumors will not stop the wheels at Red Bull
After a severe increase in the reports talking about Adrian Newey’s rumored exit from Red Bull, the Austrian team issued an official statement, denying knowledge of such a move. Quoted by PlanetF1, the statement read, “Adrian is contracted until at least the end of 2025, and we are unaware of him joining any other team.“ However, the statement doesn’t rule out any chances of the 65-year-old moving away at the end of the season.
Red Bull design chief Adrian Newey is reportedly unsettled by the situation at Red Bull since the Christian Horner and has informed them of his intention to leave!#beINSPORTS #beINF1 pic.twitter.com/9wqcVSmaEr
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTSASIA) April 26, 2024
The report from PlanetF1 further explored the comments of Christian Horner following the Chinese GP, who remained his usual calm and confident self. Per the Briton, Red Bull has nothing to fear, given evolution has been a constant part of the team’s operations.
He claimed, “We’ve always had an evolution in our team, nothing stays still. Nothing stays still forever, but we’ve had tremendous continuity.”
Citing examples of the likes of Paul Monaghan and Guillaume Rocquelin, Horner furthered his point of claiming the wheels at Red Bull never stop turning. Hence, even if the Austrian team were to experience the loss of the British aero genius, their operations wouldn’t come to a halt.
