Key Red Bull chief set to leave Formula 1 champions amid Christian Horner scandal

25/04/2024 18:25

Adrian Newey, the man largely credited with Red Bull’s dominance of Formula 1, is reportedly set to announce his departure from the team soon.

The chief technical officer will leave Red Bull after 18 years amid the controversy and fallout of the Christian Horner scandal.

Team principal Horner was investigated after a female employee of Red Bull accused him of ‘inappropriate behaviour’, with texts and images related to the probe leaked to the media and F1 personnel.

The 50-year-old, husband of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, was cleared but the complainant has appealed that decision.

The saga has triggered a civil war within Red Bull and lead to much speculation over the future of their star driver and three-time world champion Max Verstappen.

As for Newey, it was reported back in March that he was ‘unhappy’ with the situation and that he felt he was being pushed out of the team with whom he has enjoyed so much success.

The 65-year-old is an F1 legend, with cars that he's designed winning 13 drivers' titles and 12 constructors' titles since 1992, including this year’s RB20 which has won four of the five opening races.

German outlet Auto Motor und Sport now report that Newey has had enough with the power struggle and has made the decision to leave Red Bull at the end of 2024 – a year before his contract is set to expire.

This news will put the rest of the grid on high alert, with a man of Newey’s talents valued as highly, if not more highly than most drivers.

Ferrari especially are desperate to hire him, as are Aston Martin and the designer has said in the past that he would be interested in working with Sir Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

Sky Sports add that Red Bull are not aware of Newey’s desires and would put him in gardening leave until the end of his contract in order to stop other teams from signing him

More to follow…

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