F1 News: Will Buxton Questions Adrian Newey Exit - '12 Months After Signing a New Contract'
F1 pundit Will Buxton has raised his own questions regarding Adrian Newey's surprising decision to leave Red Bull today, just a year after renewing his contract with the team. Buxton, a respected voice in the motorsport community, speculated on Newey's potential future paths and the reasons behind his departure at a peak time in his career.
The legendary F1 designer is set to leave the Milton Keynes outfit in early 2025, just a year after renewing his contract. The startling decision has sparked a flurry of speculations and questions about his future career moves and motives.
With the impending departure of the CTO announced for early 2025, the Formula 1 world stands at the brink of a significant transition. Newey, recognized globally for his innovations and formative role in developing winning cars, will end an illustrious nearly two-decade stint with Red Bull to focus on the RB17 hypercar project.
Since joining Red Bull in 2006, Newey’s contributions have been monumental, chalking up 13 World Championships (7 Drivers’ and 6 Constructors’ titles), plus achieving 118 victories and more than 100 pole positions. These accolades only scratch the surface of his influence on the team and the sport itself. But with Red Bull, the RB20, and Max Verstappen showing such extreme dominance, Buxton questions the motivations behind his exit.
He took to X (formerly Twitter) to question the decision:
"Where does he go next? Ferrari? Aston? America’s Cup? Retirement? And why, after 19 years with Red Bull and in the midst of the utter domination of the sport to which he’s dedicated his life, did he want to leave in the first place, exactly 12 months after signing a new contract?"
Some may suggest that it's the reported internal power struggles within the team, or maybe the allegations currently surrounding Christian Horner, which he has denied. There are also rumors of Aston Martin offering him an eye-wateringly lucrative contract. Or potentially, even an offer to go to Ferrari, a team that has been wanting to bring on Newey for almost twenty years. Nothing has yet been confirmed, but it's likely all will be revealed over the coming months.
"Ever since I was a young boy, I wanted to be a designer of fast cars," Adrian Newey said in a press release from Red Bull. "My dream was to be an engineer in Formula One, and I’ve been lucky enough to make that dream a reality. For almost two decades it has been my great honor to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing’s progress from upstart newcomer to multiple title-winning team," Newey reflected on his career.
He added, "However, I feel now is an opportune moment to hand that baton over to others and to seek new challenges for myself. In the interim, the final stages of development of RB17 are upon us, so for the remainder of my time with the team my focus will lie there. I would like to thank the many amazing people I have worked with at Red Bull in our journey over the last 18 years for their talent, dedication, and hard work. It has been a real privilege, and I am confident that the engineering team are well prepared for the work going into the final evolution of the car under the four-year period of this regulation set."