Newey exit takes new turn as contract complication revealed

Adrian Newey is wanted by several of Red Bull’s rivals – but they may have to wait longer to acquire his signature than they hope.

It was announced on Thursday that the 65-year-old was set to leave the team after nearly two decades with the Milton Keynes-based squad.

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Newey is believed to be unsettled by the power struggle at the team caused by the allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ towards a female colleague against team principal Christian Horner, which he continues to deny.

Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing following an internal investigation by the team’s parent company, but the matter is due to be revisited with fresh evidence coming to the table.

Newey could be unavailable until 2027

Newey has built championship winning cars at Williams and McLaren and has been a stalwart at Red Bull since joining in 2006, designing the cars that won them seven drivers’ and six constructors’ titles.

His signature will no doubt be one of the most sought after in the paddock if he is to depart the team, with Ferrari and Aston Martin both showing a keen interest in the Brit.

The latter have already made an ambitious approach to sign Newey as they prepare for the future, following Fernando Alonso’s recent contract extension.

Upon his sensational move to Maranello, Lewis Hamilton has hinted at the possibility of Newey joining him at Ferrari, but the supposed agreements in the engineer’s contract may prevent him from leaving anytime soon.

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It had been reported that Newey may be able to negotiate an exit from the team at the end of the season, but a statement from Red Bull reiterated that he is under contract with the team until 2025 and that they were unaware of him joining another team.

Furthermore, according to motorsport.com, there are ‘contractual non-complete clauses’ that could prevent him from leaving for another 12 months beyond that, effectively meaning that Newey would be unavailable to another team until 2027.

Whatever the situation may be, it is certainly something teams across the paddock will be monitoring closely.

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