Adrian Newey’s farewell to Red Bull continues to be the talk of the weekend at the Miami Grand Prix, perhaps even more than the track results.
The announcement, which arrived only a few hours ago, has destabilized the paddock although the rumors have been circulating for a few days now. The brilliant designer from Stratford-upon-Avon will only leave Milton Keynes in the first months of 2025, but from next week he will only be working on the Red Bull Hypercar, the RB17.
Helmut Marko spoke to Sky Sport Germany in this regard. The consultant from the Milton Keynes team gave his own vision of Newey’s departure, stating that he was surprised and, above all, that this departure was probably created by a situation called “burnout” of the former designer of Leyton House, Williams and McLaren.
“Newey’s departure was a surprise. But if his motivation has waned and he has had a sort of burnout, then you have to accept it. And thanks to his incredible results in Red Bull Racing, a solution acceptable to both parties has been found to terminate the contract. Adrian apparently began to suffer from something I would call a sort of burnout.”
“Newey’s departure is painful, of course, because he is the best designer in Formula 1. But on the other hand we have a very large technical department, which is now under the leadership of Pierre Wache, there is Enrico Balbo and he has young talents .I don’t see any problems in terms of performance.
Adrian Newey, Chief Technology Officer, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
According to Marko, Newey will not retire, thus dedicating himself to his other passions. The sacred fire of racing is still well lit in him and, sooner or later, it will lead him to accept one of the offers that are coming to his drawing board.
Among these, those of Ferrari, Mercedes and Williams stand out, but according to Marko, Newey could wear… green. The green Aston Martin. Lawrence Stroll had already made a pharaonic offer to the designer and it would not be a surprise to see him move from Milton Keynes to Silverstone.
“I believe that Adrian, after a certain period of reflection, will have that competitive spirit again, that hunger for racing, and will therefore be available for another team and not for us. His strength has always been to do very well when they change the regulations and thank God it will only happen in 2026. Until then I am convinced that Red Bull will have the skills and knowledge necessary to be competitive from a psychological point of view.
“What color do I see Newey with in the future? I think the red clashes a bit with the dark blue. But I think anything is possible with a great green color…”.
Nothing new, however, regarding Verstappen. Although he is being sought out clearly and openly by Toto Wolff, according to Marko the Dutchman will remain at Red Bull at least until the team is able to offer him the best technical package.
“As for Max, he will definitely go where he is offered the best possible technical package. At the moment, this is Red Bull Racing. And since there are no regulatory changes expected for 2025 I am convinced that this advantage will last next year too” .
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