The situation surrounding Red Bull is the hottest topic in Formula 1. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko are at odds, whilst Max Verstappen finds himself in the middle. Verstappen is highly sought after by Mercedes and Aston Martin, with his father, Jos, increasingly vocal in the media. “If Christian remains in command, there will be problems,” he said at the beginning of Red Bull’s public power struggle. The first to abandon ship is Adrian Newey due to the team’s internal disputes and changes to the team’s technical approach. Newey has become less influential at Milton Keynes in favour of a team now entrusted to Pierre Waché and Enrico Balbo. Newey even remarked in his farewell statement – “the time has come to pass the baton and seek new challenges.”
RED BULL WILL GRANT NEWEY ‘SHORT’ GARDENING
Rumours about the 65-year-old’s departure have circulated for several days, and were covered by formu1a.uno. Today, an official announcement puts an end to any doubds. The relationship between Adrian Newey and Red Bull will officially end in the first quarter of 2025. Until then, Newey will focus full-time on the RB17, Milton Keynes’ Hypercar project.
In short, these 12 months are a sort of disguised gardening leave for F1-related activities. The designer will be in Miami – but only to follow an event linked to the RB17. His presence will be unrelated to Red Bull’s Miami GP preparation.
Lately, Red Bull has negotiated with Ferrari about Laurent Mekies’ RB move in exchange for Maranello securing several engineers. This negotiation from last year has been beneficial in establishing good faith between the two parties. Talks about Newey’s gardening have not been dissimilar to Vasseur’s talks with Toto Wolff about Loic Serra’s gardening.
In this case, Adrian Newey wanted a shorter gardening period in order to work on other projects as soon as possible. This confirms that retirement does not yet seem to be Newey’s first option.
ADRIAN NEWEY: FERRARI SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY REAL OPTION.
The duration of Adrian Newey’s gardening leave was a central factor for his future in F1. Two top teams like Mercedes and Ferrari could not have waited three years or more for his arrival. It was necessary to guarantee a much shorter away period for the English designer.
In the end, Newey has the chance to join a rival team almost immediately, something that seemed possible due to his history with Red Bull.
His contributions could be instrumental for F1’s 2026 cars, the first of a new regulation set. However, he could also play an operational role in 2025. Despite offers from Aston Martin and interest from Mercedes (seeing Newey as a way to attract Verstappen), there seems to be only one team in his future: Ferrari.
The offer has already been on the table for some time. Frederic Vasseur and John Elkann first approached Pierre Waché and then Adrian Newey in recent years/months. The French Technical Director was confirmed and renewed by Red Bull. At the same time, the explosion of internal struggle drastically changed Adrian Newey’s position, creating an opportunity that Maranello did not want to miss, as happened with Lewis Hamilton.
The wait in Italy was all to find out the gardening period granted to Newey. Newey’s availability in 2025 fits perfectly for their timeline. Ferrari’s offer is, therefore, more valid than ever. At the moment, Ferrari is the only team seriously being considered by the English designer – who could realistically join the Scuderia. His arrival could form a real ‘dream team’ at Maranello.
Ferrari’s contract would see him become a sort of super consultant, a slightly more elevated version of Rory Byrne’s role. This position, coupled with the idea of working for Ferrari, seems to have convinced Adrian Newey.
According to the latest information, only the signature is missing.
