F1 boss Christian Horner slams Red Bull rebuild in BOLD Newey claim

Christian Horner and Adrian Newey — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Horner slams Red Bull rebuild in BOLD Newey claim

Red Bull are facing the prospect of several key members leaving

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 11 January 2025 14:55

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Christian Horner has made a bold statement about the departures of Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley from the Red Bull Formula 1 setup.

Red Bull head into the 2025 season without two stalwarts, with design legend Newey opting to ditch the team and join Aston Martin, and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley set to become Audi team principal.

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It follows a period of instability for Horner's team, ultimately culminating in a sharp drop-off in performance last season, as they slipped from being dominant constructors' champions to third place in the standings behind McLaren and Ferrari.

Newey played a huge part in Red Bull's success both with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, winning six constructors' and eight drivers' titles over 19 years with the Milton Keynes outfit.

Christian Horner has won 14 championships with the Red Bull team

Adrian Newey will team up with Aston Martin in 2025

Will Red Bull struggle without Newey?

Now, Horner has issued a defiant statement about where the departures leave Red Bull. The Brit's position has come under scrutiny in the last 12 months, following an internal investigation into his conduct which cleared him of any wrongdoing, and calls from Jos Verstappen for him to step down from his role.

However, Horner still believes that the team have what it takes to once again provide four-time champion Verstappen with a championship-winning car, and get themselves back into constructors' championship contention.

"There's only two going and obviously, Adrian left in Miami, so we haven't seen him, he's been working on the RB17 since then, so he's not been working on any F1 projects," Horner told Autosport.

"Obviously, sad to see them go. They’ve both played important roles in the team over their tenure in the team.

"But the show goes on, and I think we’ve got the strength and depth we’ve got. We have that and arguably 2026 - what we're gearing up for in 2026 with our own power unit - is by far the biggest challenge and the most ambitious project this team has ever taken on.

"So, 2025, Jonathan will step off the pitwall, but other than that, everything remains the same.

"I would say rebuild goes way too far for two people that have left. It's evolution. It's something that has been on the cards for a little while, so something that has been part of the planning for some time."