'Chaos' - Christian Horner's verdict on Adrian Newey as F1 team principal

A clip of ex-Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner discussing what Adrian Newey would be like as a team principal has resurfaced, and it doesn't bode well for Aston Martin.

The Silverstone-based squad managed to tempt Newey away from Red Bull in 2024, with the F1 design legend making his first public appearance in green trackside at this year's Monaco GP.

The Brit has spent much of this year focusing on the 2026 challenger ahead of the new regulations, which Aston Martin hope to master to give Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll the best opportunity to fight for podiums, wins and eventually, championships.

But with just two rounds to go in 2025, Aston Martin made the bombshell announcement that Newey would also be picking up the role of team principal for 2026 after a leadership restructuring, a tough job to juggle alongside his responsibilities as Managing Technical Partner.

The 66-year-old has masterminded some of the most iconic pieces of machinery the sport has ever seen, and his car designs have brought home an impressive 12 constructors' championships and 14 drivers' titles.

Horner: 'no point' in Newey as team principal

So, is Newey cut out to be a team principal? Horner certainly didn't think so.

In an interview clip from his appearance on the High Performance Podcast four years ago, Horner discussed Newey's strengths and weaknesses, claiming that the Brit should simply be left alone to focus on creativity when it came to his car designs.

"Adrian is an artist, there's no point in Adrian managing a bunch of people because it would be chaos," Horner said.

"And he would be the first to accept that but you want to give him the freedom as an artist to be creative."

Horner and Newey were colleagues between 2006 and 2024 thanks to the former Red Bull team principal convincing Newey to join what would go on to be a championship-winning team in his role as Chief Technical Officer.

Since Newey's departure to Aston Martin, Horner has been sacked from his job as team principal and is currently searching for a way back into the sport.

He had been named as a potential replacement for Aston Martin's current boss Andy Cowell, but Newey has now snapped up the role, though there are still whispers of a potential return to the sport for Horner, perhaps still at Aston Martin.

Following the news of Newey's unusual dual-role at his new team for 2026, another former colleague in the form of Helmut Marko raised questions over his abilities, telling foreign media that leading a team trackside was 'not his strength'.

READ MORE: Aston Martin announce new team principal in stunning F1 shakeup

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