After days of speculation, Adrian Newey has finally sealed his fate. The 65-year-old will leave Red Bull sometime after the first quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, he will cease to work on the RB20 with immediate effect and shift his focus completely to Red Bull’s hypercar project. But how much will the Austrian team suffer as a consequence of his absence? As per past records, a lot.
Karun Chandhok recently brought to light the dip in form suffered by the teams after Adrian Newey left them. The Sky F1 presenter cited the examples of Williams and McLaren to explain his point.
Ever since Newey’s exit, Williams has failed to win any world championship and is currently among the lower-rung teams. McLaren, on the other hand, has won just one world championship since Newey’s departure. They won the title back in 2008 when Lewis Hamilton won his first of seven championships.
Chandhok wrote, “Worth remembering that Williams went from championship dominance to not winning another title and Mclaren only won 1 more title after Adrian left….The sport has changed of course but fascinated to see the effect on RBR.”
Adrian Newey joined Williams in 1991 and spent six successful years with the team. During his time there, he worked with the best of talents, including Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Damon Hill. After bagging four constructors’ titles with the Oxfordshire-based team, the master aerodynamicist switched to McLaren.
During the nine-year-long stint with the Woking-based outfit, Newey helped them win one Constructors’ title. While it wasn’t as successful a stint as the one with Williams, the legendary Mika Hakkinen won both his championships under Newey.
Adrian Newey confident Red Bull won’t meet the same fate as his previous teams
Red Bull has won all its 13 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships with the cars designed by Adrian Newey. The RB20, another one of his revolutionary designs, is on course to add two more to that tally. While his departure will make it difficult for the Milton Keynes outfit to carry forward that form, Newey is confident the team is in safe hands.
As per the official statement released by Red Bull, the Briton said, “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.”
The ground-effect regulations will last another year until the new iteration begins in 2026. With a proven concept set in, and Max Verstappen at the helm of affairs, the Austrian outfit is certainly the favorite to win another two championships in 2025.
However, they might struggle to keep that run going into the new generation of regulations without Adrian Newey. Repercussions of his exit could further prove to be devastating if he joins the likes of Ferrari or Mercedes. Both have prior title-winning experience and with the addition of Newey, either team could become a force to reckon with.
