Horner: We knew in advance about Newey’s departure and were preparing

In Miami, Christian Horner, head of Red Bull Racing, naturally had to answer questions about the impending departure of Adrin Newey from the championship team. He categorically rejected the suggestion that the reason for this was crisis phenomena within the team.

Christian Horner: “This is absolutely not true. I believe we were informed in advance of his impending departure, and discussions on this subject began twelve months ago. I know he’s had plans like this for a while, and we’re preparing for them.

Moreover, it is hardly possible to choose a better time for this than now, when the team is in excellent form and is showing such high results as in the previous two seasons. Adrian is retiring from Formula 1, but he is not yet saying goodbye to the company and we will be very sad if this happens.

For almost two decades he made a huge contribution to the team’s success, but the show will go on without him. Adrian has had a great career but he feels it is time to retire and although he will continue to work on the RB17 sports car project, he feels he needs to take a break.

Most of all, we will miss the friendly communication with him, because over the past 18 years there were many different moments, both joyful and not so joyful. But all these years he stood next to me on the pit wall of our team, which during this time achieved 117 victories and won many championships.

I’m not afraid that some Red Bull Racing employees will follow him; all major specialists in the technical department have long-term contracts. We had to prepare for this moment a while ago, we knew it would happen sooner or later, so we created an effective structure that continues to create cars as fantastic as the RB20.

Adrian is already 65 years old, he has earned the right to rest and wants to spend more time with his family, but who knows, he might still want to return to Formula 1. It’s funny, but he can’t stand it when the regulations change in the championship, and in 2026 a unique situation awaits us this year – the teams will have to switch to both a new generation of cars and new engines.

Horner also made it clear that he is not concerned about talk about the possible departure of Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing: “The press reports about this every week, but he still plays for our team, he is happy with everything here, he is Surrounded by excellent engineers, he is now in better shape than ever and drives the fastest car ever. And the point is not that he has contractual obligations, but rather that he is satisfied with everything.

Although the details of his contract are confidential, I would like to say that no terms relating to Adrian Newey appear in this document. “My relationship with Max is just as good as with the drivers who competed for Red Bull Racing in the past and with Adrian’s departure the structure of our team will not change.”