"Was a bit premature"

Horner offended: “Always does his own thing”

Christian Horner was not enthusiastic about the timing of the Newey presentation.

(Bild: APA/AFP/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner did not like the premature presentation of Adrian Newey at Aston Martin. According to the Briton, the timing was not good. But he had expected something like this, after all, Newey always tends to do his own thing, Horner said angrily. 

A few days ago, design genius Newey was officially presented at Aston Martin - even though he is still under contract with Red Bull for a few months. Not the smart thing to do, says Horner, who adds to Motorsport-Total.com: "Of course it was a big announcement from Aston, and Adrian has always tended to do his own thing." 

The Red Bull team boss is still frustrated about the change. "They decided to celebrate it perhaps a little prematurely before he finished his contract with Red Bull Racing. But it was obviously a big moment for this team," says the Briton.

Newey - a special guy
Newey's decision to join Aston Martin came as no surprise to him, says Horner: "I think it became increasingly clear that that was the direction he was going to take - rather than retire or go to some other team." Red Bull, meanwhile, must cope without the "mastermind", the problems that have arisen.

From left: Fernando Alonso, Adrian Newey, Lawrence Stroll and Lance Stroll.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Nevertheless, Horner also had some conciliatory words: "It will be a new challenge for him and it will be sad to see him go next year. But we wish him all the best for the future."

For both the designer and the new racing team, however, there will be a challenging period of getting to know each other, Horner is certain: "Adrian is obviously a very creative guy, certainly not your average designer. I think he's the only person in Formula 1 who still works at the drawing board, so there will inevitably be a process of getting to know each other, how you work and so on." Horner now wants to look to the future with optimism and is grateful for "20 years together full of ups and downs".