F1 insider reveals reason behind Christian Horner and Adrian Newey split

F1 News & Gossip

F1 insider reveals reason behind Christian Horner and Adrian Newey split

Adrian Newey worked at Red Bull for nearly two decades. So why did he leave?

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 7 April 2026 08:27

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An insight into Adrian Newey's Red Bull exit in 2024 has been provided by an F1 insider.

Following a tumultuous start to the 2024 F1 season for Christian Horner, where the then Red Bull team principal was accused of inappropriate behaviour (eventually cleared of all allegations), the shock announcement soon followed that Newey was leaving the team.

Newey had been as part of the team's DNA as Horner, with the design legend joining back in 2006 and leading their campaign to become champions with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

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When Newey then signed for Aston Martin, not only as an employee but also as a shareholder, it became clear that the Silverstone-based outfit was offering the technical guru a new opportunity - one that has since developed into him becoming team principal.

Why Newey left Red Bull

During an appearance on the The Undercut podcast, champion Damon Hill and F1 insider Mark Hughes discussed Newey and in particular how he's railed against control throughout his career.

First at Williams and then at McLaren, it was at Red Bull where, they claimed, Christian Horner struck the perfect balance managing Newey, seemingly allowing him agency but ultimately keeping him under a watchful eye.

In the end however, Hughes claimed that Newey 'railed against' this and revealed the real reason behind his split with Horner's team.

"It came a time where Christian’s thinking ‘what’s the future? Adrian’s sort of pushing 60'," Hughes explained.

"And so he’s bringing someone else in, who naturally they wanted to be involved as well, and Adrian ultimately railed against that. He’s now at the logical place where that would take you to, where he’s in charge of everything."

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F1 Red Bull Christian Horner Adrian Newey