"Stay true to yourself"

Adrian Newey: That’s why I left Red Bull

Adrian Newey

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Formula 1 designer Adrian Newey has spoken about his departure from Red Bull. "For various reasons, I felt that I would not be true to myself if I stayed at Red Bull," said the 66-year-old.

Newey's resignation was a reaction to the internal power struggle and the turmoil surrounding team boss Christian Horner, who was accused of inappropriate behavior by a former employee at the beginning of the year. This affair, which put a considerable strain on team harmony at the beginning of the season, is also said to have caused a rift between Newey and Horner.

Now Newey, who will be working at Aston Martin from March, commented on his departure in an interview with "Auto, Motor und Sport": "I think if you had asked me twelve months ago whether I would be leaving Red Bull and starting again now, I would have said: 'No, you're crazy'."

"But for various reasons, I had the feeling that I wouldn't be true to myself if I stayed at Red Bull. So the first difficult decision was exactly whether to stay with Red Bull or not," said Newey. "So obviously I came to the conclusion that, if I'm honest with myself, I'm not in a position to [continue working for Red Bull]."

According to motorsport consultant Helmut Marko, the death of Red Bull founder Didi Mateschitz and the restructuring of the group also led to Newey seeking "a new challenge".

"I could have retired and sat on the beach..."
"Once I had made that decision, it was about what I should do next," explained Newey, who emphasized that "financially" he would not have needed to move to another Formula 1 racing team. "So I could have just retired and sat on the beach, or I could have done something completely different, the America's Cup, or maybe worked on road cars for one of the manufacturers."

Adrian Newey is now part of Aston Martin.

(Bild: AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

In the end, the offer from Aston Martin came on the table and he decided not to retire because otherwise he would have become "bored". "So if I wanted to continue working, why not do what I've always wanted to do and what I've always enjoyed doing," says Newey. At Red Bull, however, he apparently no longer had any fun ...