Red Bull design 'supremo' to step down at end of year

Adrian Newey, the design genius who has masterminded Red Bull’s current domination in Formula One, will leave the world champions in early 2025 and “seek new challenges” in the sport.

- KIERAN JACKSON

The 65-year-old, who has been at Red Bull since 2006, is the man praised for the current generation of Red Bull car that sees  Max Verstappen dominating Formula One, with a fourth straight drivers’ title likely this year.

However, following reports last week that Newey had informally told Red Bull colleagues that he wanted to quit, the team confirmed today that their chief technical officer will leave the company at the start of 2025 and will “step back” from Formula One this season. Newey – who is on a reported £10m-a-year contract – is still expected to appear with the team at occasional race weekends, including the upcoming Miami Grand Prix. He is also working on Red Bull’s RB17 sportscar, a project he will continue until departing the team in 2025.

A Red Bull statement said: “The engineering supremo will step back from Formula One design duties to focus on final development and delivery of Red Bull’s first hypercar, the hugely anticipated RB17. We’d like to thank Adrian for our achievements in the time that we have worked together so far. He has been instrumental for us in achieving a remarkable seven Formula One drivers’ and six constructors’ championship titles, totalling 118 victories and 101 poles including the STR 2007 pole and victory.”

Newey said “now is an opportune moment” to “seek new challenges”. He added: “Ever since I was a young boy, I wanted to be a designer of fast cars. My dream was to be an engineer in Formula One, and I’ve been lucky enough to make that dream a reality.