Shock Adrian Newey departure set for huge impact

Adrian Newey started his role as the technical chief at Aston Martin prior to the beginning of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

But his move to the team over the winter followed nearly two decades of success at Red Bull before he abruptly left them under curious circumstances during the 2024 campaign.

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Although Red Bull were able to soldier on to help Max Verstappen retain the drivers' world championship, the team endured an alarming slip back to third in the constructors' championship.

Red Bull have just about managed to keep on the heels of most of their rivals over the winter but despite a well earned second place with Max Verstappen at the season opener in Australia, still look way off the pace of McLaren.

F1 expert Jennie Gow spoke exclusively to Jim Kimberley, reporting for GPFans, admitting that Newey's departure was indeed largely unexpected from Red Bull

"I would say it was not inevitable," she said. "I certainly didn't expect it when the call came that he was leaving. Now, if you look back at it with all the information you have, in hindsight, you could say, "Oh, well, maybe it was inevitable."

"But I don't think anyone would be sitting here at the end of 2023 and saying, "Oh yeah, I knew he was going to leave the team." It just wouldn't have happened.

"I think it's a massive shift in the dynamics of Red Bull, and how they go on without him will be really key and really fascinating to watch."

What is Adrian Newey doing now?

Gow went on to describe how vital Newey was to the setup under Christian Horner, and that trying to replace the 66-year-old would be an incredibly tough act for the team.

Newey meanwhile will hope to build Aston Martin into an F1 title challenger from as soon as the 2026 season in his new role as a managing technical partner.

"Has he just been a prop wielded around by Red Bull for 20 years? I mean, he's a phenomenal talent and has helped to shape that team," she added.

"And whilst the Red Bull PRs are right that it is a team sport and he is just one of many contributors to making that car great, I don't think you can underplay what he's done, what he's been able to do.

"Not just in his time at Red Bull, but his time at Williams, his time at McLaren.

"He's one of the best that there's ever been when it comes to designing a car, and we've seen that airflow is what he does best.

"He wrote a dissertation on it when he was at university. It's the thing he just knows, and ground effects is his call of fish.

"Him leaving Red Bull will impact them, no doubt."

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