Adrian Newey Set to Leave Red Bull Amid Team Controversies

Adrian Newey is ready to leave Red Bull. The absolute dominance of his creation this season, having won 4 of the 5 World Championship races so far with Verstappen, is not enough. The brilliant designer will leave the team in the wake of the controversy that has involved team principal Christian Horner. The rumor is reported by Auto Motor und Sport and BBC. Newey is tied to Red Bull by a contract that expires at the end of 2025, but according to some sources, he is negotiating an exit to be able to work with a new team from next season. Newey, considered the greatest Formula 1 designer in history, has told Red Bull that he does not want to continue his relationship with the Milton Keynes team, most likely because he is disturbed by the potentially explosive situation that has arisen in the team since team principal Christian Horner was accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior towards an employee, and then acquitted by the same team after an internal investigation. The team leader in F1 is a real powder keg. At the moment it is as if there were two opposing factions: on one side Horner, who is supported by the team's main shareholder, the Thai Chalerm Yoovidhya, on the other the historic lieutenant Helmut Marko, linked both to the heirs of the founder Dietrich Mateschitz, and to the Verstappen clan (Max and father Jos). In a climate that remains very tense, it seems that the designer has shown his discontent to continue working in an atmosphere contaminated by grudges and cross-fights, desiring new challenges. Adrian Newey has been with Red Bull since 2006 and, together with Horner, has been one of the mainstays of the team since its foundation by Dietrich Mateschitz. In his palmares with the Milton Keynes team there are 6 Constructors' Championships and 7 drivers', including 4 with Sebastian Vettel and 3 with Max Verstappen: a prestigious resume that seems however to have reached its end.