Formula 1 giants Red Bull confirm the departure of design chief Adrian Newey

As Red Bull have released a statement confirming the departure of F1 design chief Adrian Newey, we take a look at where that leaves both him, and the team, ahead of 2025.

Newey will step back from the Formula One side of things immediately, no longer working on both the current car and next year’s. Instead, he will oversee the final stages of a project he started with the team - producing their first ever hypercar, the RB17.

Red Bull have however confirmed that he will still attend the occasional Grand Prix – starting with this weekend’s race in Miami -  as a show of support to the team.

An end to Red Bull dominance?

New regulations are on the horizon, specifically new engine and chassis regulations, and Adrian Newey has become notorious for spotting loopholes in the regulations, often gaining ground on his rivals because of it.

Just look at McLaren, in 1998, and Red Bull when regulation changes were made in 2009 and 2022.

There's no doubt that his departure will be a blow to the Austrian team with Newey widely considered to be the best designer in the sport’s history, credited with being the cornerstone for everything Red Bull have achieved since they debuted in F1 back in 2005.

His list of accomplishments speaks for itself. He designed the cars that saw Sebastian Vettel win four World Drivers Championship’s in a row, with the Constructors title also coming in all four of those campaigns.

Red Bull are on a similar run now, with Max Verstappen well on his way to winning a fourth successive Championship, and a third Constructors to boot, in one of the most dominant spells any driver has ever had.

Last season, Verstappen and Sergio Perez were the top two in the Drivers’ Championship, with the team winning all but one race throughout the season.

This season, barring any retirements, no team look as though they can even get within striking distance of the Dutchman’s RB20.

Red Bull Constructors Championship record

1st:	7 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2022, 2023 & 2024)
2nd:	5 (2009, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021)
3rd:	3 (2017, 2018, 2019)

What’s next for Newey?

There are a few exciting prospects for the designer, and it’s entirely possible that he may hear from every team principal before his eventual decision, such is the demand for him.

Ferrari look the most likely to secure his signature, having already recruited seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. There have been rumours swirling of Fred Vasseur visiting him in London to discuss a contract, but both parties remain tight-lipped.

It would be perfect timing for the Tifosi, Newey would be a huge coup, especially given the drastic regulation changes to come in 2026. He will be joining too late to leave his stamp on the 2025 car - which gives Hamilton a year to settle into the team.

On top of this, one of Newey’s career regrets, as he has stated himself, is not working with the Maranello team.

Another being the fact that he is yet to work with two drivers currently on the grid, one of these being Lewis Hamilton... the other?

Fernando Alonso!

The two-time world champion is an icon of the sport, and said when signing his new contract, that it is probably his last one. The fact that time is running out to work with the Spaniard could tempt Newey into signing with Aston Martin, who have supposedly offered him a contract.

They would represent an attractive alternative to Ferrari, too.

Their Silverstone base is just half an hour’s drive from Red Bull’s UK HQ - meaning he wouldn’t have to relocate - and team boss Lawrence Stroll has recently spent a large sum of money on making sure their facilities are state of the art in time for the 2026 rule changes.

Toto Wolff of Mercedes and Zak Brown at McLaren have both shown their appreciation of Newey’s talent, but have distanced themselves from the prospect of hiring him.

None of the other teams on the grid would be able to offer him what he wanted, from both a personal perspective and a professional one.

Alternatively, retirement may beckon for Adrian Newey; who, at 65, has had almost 20 years of relentless pressure at Red Bull.

Such a decision would quickly squash all the speculation surrounding the designer, and it would no doubt become a show of admiration, from a sport that he has had a stranglehold on for the best part of two decades.