After weeks of speculation, Adrian Newey has finally decided that he wants to leave Red Bull. He joined the team in 2006 making the 2024 season his 19th year with the team. He played a pivotal role in developing all of Red Bull’s cars from the 2007 season. A few years back, he called Red Bull his family.
Given this fact, why did he decide to leave his “family” all of a sudden? From what is known, both Christian Horner and Helmut Marko played a part in motivating Newey to leave the team.
What led Adrian Newey to want to leave Red Bull after 19 years?
It has been stated that one of the primary reasons for Newey’s decision is the power struggle between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko. Last year, both Horner and Marko had a few disagreements that took a turn for the worse. It was reported that Horner wanted Marko out of the team. However, Red Bull’s star driver, Max Verstappen made it very clear that he wants the 80-year-old Austrian to stay with the team.
This year, things escalated within the team when allegations of inappropriate behaviour were made against Christian Horner. After an investigation conducted by Red Bull, they cleared Horner of all charges. However, a couple of days later, a Google Drive file containing the alleged evidence of the allegations against Horner was leaked to the media. This brought a lot of unwanted criticism towards the Red Bull team principal.
🚨| Adrian Newey is reportedly set to leave Red Bull amid the ongoing power struggle between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko.
But where will he go after leaving Red Bull?
Read all about it here. ⬇️https://t.co/bCKEHpWgSd
— Motorsport Hour (@MotorsportHour) April 25, 2024
It was earlier rumoured that Horner had leaked the evidence in an attempt to get Horner to leave the team. Red Bull even launched an investigation into Hellmut Marko. Although the details were not officially announced, it was assumed that it was to determine whether Marko leaked the file. After a conversation with Red Bull CEO, Oliver Mintzlaf, the Austrian was cleared and continued his role with the team.
Although the team are experiencing a tremendous amount of success on track, things are still tense within the team. There is still a Civil War brewing within the ranks of Red Bull. Sooner or later, key members of the team will have to take sides. Wanting no part in this Civil War, Adrian Newey has decided that he wants to leave the team as soon as possible.
Rohit Kumar 
Sara Chavan