F1 News: Christian Horner reveals Adrian Newey fallout over Ferrari move

F1 News & Gossip

Christian Horner reveals why Adrian Newey relationship was never the same again

The moment everything became different for a great F1 partnership

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Tuesday 6 October 2026 08:58

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Christian Horner has revealed the moment his relationship with Adrian Newey changed at Red Bull, admitting he felt he could “no longer rely” on the legendary F1 designer.

Horner and the 67-year-old Newey formed one of the most successful partnerships in modern F1 history, with the pair playing instrumental roles in transforming Red Bull from an ambitious newcomer into a multiple championship-winning force.

They spent almost two decades together as the brains behind an operation which claimed eight world drivers' championship titles and six constructors' title wins.

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Their relationship extended beyond the paddock, too - Newey was an usher at Horner’s wedding to 'Spice Girl' Geri Halliwell and is godfather to his daughter Olivia.

But Horner has now claimed that their bond was severely tested when Newey considered an approach from Italian giants Ferrari in 2014.

Newey was an usher when Horner and Geri wed.

Horner and Newey, the moment everything changed

“I had his back and believed that he had mine,” Horner told The Times.

“But at the first sign of adversity, Adrian wanted to abandon ship.

“I felt very sad about that … I couldn’t rely on him any more. Our partnership was not as solid as I’d previously believed.”

The timing of that moment was significant for Red Bull - after dominating the sport between 2010 and 2013, the introduction of Formula 1’s turbo-hybrid regulations in 2014 brought the team’s dominant run to an abrupt end.

Mercedes emerged as the new benchmark as Lewis Hamilton claimed six world titles in seven seasons, while Red Bull struggled to replicate its previous success.

It would take seven years for the team to again ascend to the summit when Max Verstappen became world champion in that acrimonious season finale in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

According to Horner, Newey’s consideration of an offer from Maranello during that period fundamentally altered how he viewed their partnership.

How Red Bull managed to keep Newey

Red Bull ultimately managed to retain Newey, with Horner revealing that the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar project was partly conceived as a way of giving the renowned designer another reason to remain with the organisation.

The Valkyrie was developed through a collaboration between Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin, with the design genius heavily involved in the project.

Horner, who owns a Valkyrie reportedly worth around £2.5million, was candid about the motivation behind the project, saying it came about to “retain Adrian, because he was going to bugger off to Ferrari”.

Newey remained with Red Bull and would go on to play an important role in another hugely successful chapter for the team.

Red Bull returned to championship-winning form with Verstappen in 2021 and became the dominant force of the ground-effect era, with Newey involved in the design operation behind the cars that powered the team’s success.

Despite describing Newey as an engineering genius, Horner was more critical of other aspects of his former colleague’s skillset according to The Times, questioning his management ability and approach to conflict.

Nevertheless, the 52-year-old Horner says the pair remain friends, despite the apparent fracture in the trust that had previously underpinned their professional relationship.

Newey eventually announced his departure from Red Bull in 2024 following almost two decades with the team. He subsequently joined Aston Martin, becoming managing technical partner and later team principal as the Silverstone-based outfit prepared for Formula 1’s major 2026 regulation changes.

His departure brought an end to one of the sport’s most successful F1 partnerships, but in some ways things had never been quite the same since Ferrari came calling a decade earlier.

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F1 Red Bull Christian Horner Adrian Newey