Horner lays into Newey in new book: 'At the first setback, he wanted to jump ship'

The moment Horner describes took place during a turbulent period for Red Bull. At the time, the team was struggling with an uncompetitive Renault engine and also lost Sebastian Vettel to Ferrari. During that same unsettled period, Ferrari also approached Newey. Horner characterizes that episode as a definitive turning point in their collaboration.

"I stood behind him and believed that he stood behind me as well," Horner writes. "But at the first sign of adversity, Adrian wanted to abandon ship. I felt very sad about that. I could no longer rely on him. Our partnership was not as solid as I had previously believed."

Newey ultimately stayed at Red Bull in 2014, but the partnership ended ten years later after all. In May 2024, the team announced that Newey would step back from his day-to-day F1 duties. In September of that year, his move to Aston Martin was confirmed, and in the first quarter of 2025 he left Red Bull for good. The departure is widely seen as one of the factors behind the team’s decline.

Under Laurent Mekies, Red Bull currently sits fourth in the constructors’ championship with 230 points, far behind leaders Mercedes (503 points). Horner also claims in The Times that Red Bull has "lost its mojo, its presence and its vibe" since his own departure.

Things are not going smoothly for Newey at Aston Martin either. The team is tenth in the championship with just three points after fourteen races. Earlier this year, Newey admitted he had taken "a bold direction" aerodynamically, which led to unforeseen problems.

The attack on Newey does not stand alone. In the interview, Horner has something to say about "virtually everyone who has shared a garage with him." As GPblog previously reported, Horner also took aim in the same series of revelations at Helmut Marko and Toto Wolff. The book DRIVE will be released on October 22.