F1 legend opens up on SHOCK team exit

Newey and Alonso on the podium in Canada — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 legend opens up on SHOCK team exit

Adrian Newey will join Aston Martin in March

Originally written by Sheona Mountford. This version is a translation.

Tuesday 7 January 2025 18:30

Adrian Newey has opened up on his reasons for leaving Red Bull's Formula 1 operations for a new challenge.

The legendary engineer and designer's exit from the 2023 constructors' champions was one of the biggest stories of the season, with months of speculation over his next destination.

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Following Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari, the Scuderia appeared the most likely candidate to secure Newey’s signature, but this eventuality did not materialise.

Newey finally announced he would be joining Aston Martin, and will debut with the team in March as their managing technical partner in a lucrative deal.

Adrian Newey's signing was the most anticipated of last year's silly season

Adrian Newey joins Aston Martin in March

Newey discusses Red Bull exit

Discussing the reasons for his move back in 2024, the 66-year-old revealed that a ‘maturity’ issues solidified his team exit, and felt he needed new challenges in his career.

Since joining, Red Bull Newey has helped the team secure six constructors’ titles, and eight drivers' championships with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

“I find there comes a point where I feel as if I need new challenges, the team’s reached a good level of maturity, it’s a very mature engineering organisation as well as the rest of the team so in a way I’ve kind of done my bit,” Newey said on the High Performance Podcast.

“I started to feel as if we’re getting a little bit stale, I think the guys also felt as though perhaps they needed to show that they could do it on their own so I thought well ok let’s give them the chance and give myself a new challenge.”

Red Bull Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Formula 1 Aston Martin Adrian Newey