D-Day for Newey approaches: quick dismissal meeting with Red Bull Racing top brass

With first a report in Auto, Motor und Sport last week, a bombshell was dropped at Red Bull Racing: Adrian Newey plans to announce his retirement from the Austrian team. Within Red Bull Racing, people were somewhat surprised, as there had been no official announcement of the resignation. This will change in the coming days, according to the Daily Mail, for example.

No doubt the management of the successful racing team wants to know from their Chief Technical Officer what all is true of the stories in the media that Newey wants to leave, despite an ongoing contract until the end of 2025. In any case, it is no secret that the relationship with team boss Christian Horner has become fractured, with Newey - like Max Verstappen, for example - blaming the Briton for internal unrest within the team.

Newey expected in Miami

It is still unclear as of when Newey intends to leave his duties at Red Bull Racing. It was always planned that the master designer will be at Red Bull Racing's pit wall in Miami next Grand Prix. For now, there is no indication that Newey wants to quit immediately, so he is expected in the US city as planned. Bearing in mind that a (senior) employee of a Formula 1 team goes on gardening leave (a mandatory period at home, ed.) somewhere for a while after leaving, it is not obvious that Newey will be able to join another team before 2026.

Undoubtedly, there are plenty of teams looking to contract Newey after his departure from Red Bull. Aston Martin is known to have a huge cheque ready for Newey. Ferrari, too, would love to bring in the Briton, although there is a realisation among the Italians that this would require paying the top price. Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport has already calculated that it will cost at least 100 million euros to get Newey to sign a four-year contract at the Scuderia.

As mentioned, it is still completely unclear what Newey's plans are after his departure from Red Bull. It is certainly not out of the question for the now 65-year-old to retire and enjoy life with his wife Amanda. In the coming days, after the talks with Red Bull, more will surely become clear about this.