Adrian Newey will leave the Red Bull Formula 1 team, of which he has been the engineer for many years, due to the controversy affecting the team director, Christian Horner, the BBC said on Thursday, citing sources close to the team. engineer and stable.
Contacted by AFP, a Red Bull spokesperson however indicated that “Adrian is under contract until at least the end of 2025 and we are not aware of him joining another team”.
Considered one of F1’s greatest engineers, Newey, 65, has worked for Red Bull since 2006 and designed the cars that brought Red Bull six Constructors’ World Championship titles between 2010 and 2023 and seven driver titles with Sebastian Vettel (from 2010 to 2013) then Max Verstappen (from 2021 to 2023). The Briton had previously worked for the Williams and McLaren teams.
Red Bull has been shaken by controversy since Christian Horner was accused by a team employee of “inappropriate behavior”. Horner, 50, has always protested his innocence and was cleared in early March by Red Bull after an internal investigation, lasting ten weeks, led by an external lawyer appointed by the Austrian team.
The employee was suspended from the team after her complaint was dismissed but has since been reinstated. The BBC said in mid-March that it had referred the matter to the International Automobile Federation (FIA). Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, himself a former F1 driver, estimated in early March that Red Bull would “explode” if Horner remained in his post.
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The affair had no repercussions on Red Bull’s racing performance: after five Grands Prix run this season, the team largely dominates the constructors’ world championship with 195 points against 151 for its runner-up, Ferrari. In the drivers’ standings, Verstappen, winner four times already this season, is in the lead with 110 points, ahead of his Mexican teammate Sergio Perez (85 pts).