Adrian Newey reveals next phase of Red Bull exit plan as three F1 teams circle

With his Red Bull Formula 1 involvement over, Adrian Newey has support to see the RB17 hypercar through to completion, as rivals lurk looking to lure him back to Formula 1.

One of the most successful Formula 1 designers of all-time, Newey will officially become a free agent after the first quarter of 2025, though he is no longer involved with Red Bull’s F1 operations. Instead, their RB17 hypercar, overseen by Newey, is his final contribution to the organisation.

Adrian Newey will see Red Bull RB17 through to completion

Ferrari, Aston Martin and McLaren have all been linked with a move to bring Newey back to Formula 1, but while he is getting some “holiday time” in now alongside work on the RB17, that project is not over with Red Bull giving Newey their blessing for him to see the project through after the RB17’s reveal at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Put to him that the RB17 represents a fitting end to his Red Bull tenure, which started back in 2006, Newey told the Formula 1 website : “As it’s turned out, yes.

“I mean, it was never intended that way, of course. When we started the car in very early 2021, I never kind of even considered that I would be no longer with the team come ’25, or going into Q2 of ’25, so in that sense yes, it is.

“But, having said that, I will continue to be involved in the development of the RB17 through production and so forth. I’ve really put a lot of time into this in terms of evenings and weekends, trying to fit it in with F1.

“I certainly want to see it through to completion. The shareholders at Red Bull, Christian [Horner, Red Bull team principal], everybody else is very supportive of that, so I will be still involved on this side of things.

“We’re in a very important stage of RB17 now in terms of detail drawing release. We’ve still got some aerodynamic work to do on the parts that haven’t been fixed yet.

“We’ve got all the considerations of how we go about the servicing plan, servicing costs, how all that works, so there’s a lot of work to be completed in the next six months or so. So, with no F1 duty, I can now concentrate on that.

“At the same time, [I can] also take a bit of holiday time. I’ve been kind of in the business pretty much non-stop for a long time now, so having a little bit of a break is nice!”

A deeper look at the Red Bull RB17

👉 Red Bull RB17: The £5million hypercar that now has Adrian Newey’s full focus

👉 Inside Red Bull: Christian Horner and the other major players in Red Bull’s hierarchy

Newey did not give much away when it comes to any potential future Formula 1 involvement, but said “everything else is a bonus” at this stage of his career.

“Ultimately, it’s not why I do the job,” said Newey when asked if he has another F1 run in him.

“From the age of 10 or 11, I always wanted to be a designer in motor racing, and I’ve managed to achieve that, so everything else is a bonus really.

“My passion has always been trying to add performance to cars, to race cars, so the rest is, of course, part of it, but it’s not what wakes me up and motivates me.”

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