With Adrian Newey, Red Bull has to cope with a major loss. In 2024, the designer decided to leave the racing team after almost 20 years and move to Aston Martin.
This is a bitter loss for Red Bull, as Newey led the team from midfield to the top and his cars were responsible for a total of 14 world championship titles.
Max Verstappen was also able to win four drivers’ titles in Newey cars, but the Dutchman still didn’t want to persuade the designer to stay: “I didn’t try it at all,” he tells “Viaplay”.
“I said, ‘I understand your decision and I’m not one to beg you to stay. If you want to go, you have to go because that’s how you feel. I think you’ve thought about it for a long time, so I’m “I’m not the person to talk my way out of it,” said Verstappen.
The world champion knew “a few weeks” before the announcement that Newey would be leaving Red Bull. It wasn’t clear where at the time, except that the journey would end at Red Bull.
“But in the end it is what it is and you have to live with it,” he says. “I’ve always said that I would prefer Adrian to stay, but in the end you can’t force anyone to stay.”
Didn’t talk to Newey about his own move
Verstappen himself also seemed to be on the verge of leaving in 2024 because the internal quarrels at Red Bull had ensured that he could terminate his contract, which runs until 2028, early. There had been repeated discussions with Mercedes, but Aston Martin was also often mentioned as a possible destination.
There he could not only follow Newey, but would also work again with Honda, which will become Aston Martin’s exclusive engine supplier from 2026.
But he says he didn’t talk to Newey about it. And so the two will part ways for the time being. Verstappen is staying with Red Bull for the time being, while Newey will be leaving the racing team he was with for the longest time and with which he enjoyed the most success.
“Made the team what it is today”
“It was important for us that he came on board at all. He built the whole team,” says Verstappen, praising Newey’s work. “Together with Christian [Horner] and Helmut [Marko] He made the team what it is today.”
But the Dutchman also says that Red Bull is no longer a one-man team when it comes to Newey’s work. “There are a lot of engineers involved. But it was still nice to have someone like that on the team. And if you had a question or ideas, or he had an idea, you could exchange ideas with him.”
“And that’s why I think it was very important that Adrian was here.”