Top designer Adrian Newey is said to have decided to leave the Red Bull Formula 1 team. Various well-established motorsport media reported this.
It is not official, but according to various media (Motorsport.com, Auto, Motor und Sport, Repubblica Sport,…) Newey will leave at the end of the season.
The 65-year-old Newey worked at Red Bull for twenty years and designed the cars in which Sebastian Vettel won four world titles and Max Verstappen three. Verstappen has a super fast car again this season and is well on his way to his fourth world title.
Newey reportedly wants to leave because there is still an internal power struggle within the Red Bull team. Team boss Christian Horner has the support of Thai businessman Chalerm Yoovidhya, who owns 51 percent of the shares. Top advisor Helmut Marko is on the side of the Austrian owners of Red Bull. Newey would also not feel good about the affair surrounding Horner, who was acquitted in the complaint of inappropriate behavior against an employee.
Before Newey started working at Red Bull, he had already made his mark in Formula 1 by designing the Williams in which Damon Hill won the world title in 1996. He also invented the McLaren in which the Finn Mika Häkkinen became world champion twice. It is not yet known whether Newey will switch to another racing stable. He is said to have already received a lucrative offer from Aston Martin this year.