Adrian Newey's imminent move from Red Bull Racing to Aston Martin has sparked a flurry of reactions, with Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner openly critiquing the timing of Aston Martin's announcement.
The prestigious engineer, who has been a pivotal force behind Red Bull's success, is set to join Aston Martin as Technical Managing Partner starting March 1, 2024.
Newey's departure from the Austrian team and subsequent joining of the Silvestone-based squad was unveiled at a press conference at Aston Martin's new base on Tuesday.
Despite the fanfare surrounding this high-profile move, Horner expressed reservations about the announcement's timing. He commented to the media during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, as quoted by Motorsport:
"It was obviously a large announcement by Aston and Adrian has always tended to do his own thing so obviously it was a big moment for that team," Horner said.
However, Horner did not hold back in pointing out what he saw as a premature celebration.
"They chose to celebrate it perhaps potentially slightly prematurely before he has finished his contract with Red Bull Racing but obviously it was a big moment for that team."
Despite his critique, Horner maintained a pragmatic outlook on Newey's career decision.
"It wasn't a great surprise; I think it was becoming clearer and clearer that that was the route that he was going to go rather than into retirement or any other team so obviously it will be a new challenge for him and it will be sad to see when he leaves next year but we wish him all the best for the future," he said.
"Adrian is obviously a very creative guy and he is not your average designer, I think he is the only person still in Formula 1 working on a drawing board, so inevitably there will be a process of having to get to know each other and how each other works and so on.
"He is unique in many respects, and I think that Aston will obviously look to draw upon his huge experience.
"I look back with great fondness to the time, the 20 years almost that we spent together, the highs and lows during that period, but look forward to the future and I think we are well positioned for that."
2024 F1 Constructors' Standings
1. Red Bull Racing - 446 points
2. McLaren - 438 points
3. Ferrari - 407 points
4. Mercedes - 292 points
5. Aston Martin - 74 points
6. VCARB - 34 points
7. Haas - 28 points
8. Alpine - 13 points
9. Williams - 6 points
10. Sauber - 0 points
About the writer
Lydia Mee is a passionate motorsport journalist with a background in covering Formula 1, NASCAR, electric vehicles, and other various ... Read more
