Newey out of Formula One for good? 'Just that I enjoy'

Following his retirement from Red Bull Racing after the first quarter of '25, there is a chance Adrian Newey will disappear into anonymity for a while. The chief technical officer says he wants to distance himself from the sport - at least for a while - after a busy life in Formula 1. Newey is not talking about a permanent departure from F1 for the time being, especially if a major rule change is imminent. That is precisely when his fingers start itching.

Designing and building a car from scratch is precisely what makes Newey very happy. There will be a new generation of F1 cars in 2026 and it will be interesting to see which designer and team have managed to interpret the regulations best. While there are never any guarantees, the fact is that Newey and his Red Bull team managed to handle the new rules best in '22.

Newey enjoyed working on this generation of Red Bulls

When Newey is released from his contract at Red Bull in 2025, there will still be time to work on the 2026 car at another team. "I do enjoy regulation changes, for sure. I say this current crop of regulations was the biggest regulation change we've had since 1983, when flat bottom cars came in. So I really enjoyed the challenge of all the research and detail design of that car. These, the two subsequent cars, are evolutions of that car, and next year's car will be the third evolution of that car."

The 2025 Red Bull car - although Newey is no longer involved in its creation - is also, in a way, a child of the Brit. "It's been a great series, one that surprised me just how much there is in these cars. Actually, when I first looked at the regulations, I wasn't so sure, but, yes, it's been fun."