Newey opens up on when he first thought about leaving Red Bull as he admits to feeling ‘a little bit tired’

Adrian Newey has shed light on when he first started to contemplate leaving Red Bull, with the legendary designer reflecting on how the tense championship battle of 2021 contributed towards a feeling of being “a little bit tired”.

It was confirmed in the days prior to the Miami Grand Prix that Newey will depart his role as Chief Technical Officer in the first quarter of 2025, drawing a close to a nearly 20-year partnership between him and the team.

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Reflecting on that journey – which began when Newey joined the squad in 2006, one year after Red Bull arrived onto the grid after the drinks company bought the former Jaguar outfit – the 65-year-old told Sky Sports F1: “Honestly, when I joined I had no idea where we were going to end up – [it was] quite a big career risk from me, and it’s just been an amazing ride since then.

“It’s been a tremendous honour working with all the amazing guys and girls at the factory, at the race team. [It’s] just been fabulous.”

Asked why he had made the decision to leave now – whilst the team are in such dominant form – Newey pointed to the challenges faced in 2021, a season in which the squad engaged in a fierce duel for the title with Mercedes whilst also preparing for the introduction of new technical regulations in 2022.

“Formula 1’s all-consuming – I’ve been at it for a long time now,” he reflected. “2021 was a really busy year because of the tight battle with Mercedes through the championship and, at the same time, putting all the research and development into the [RB]18, which was the father of this generation of cars.

“There comes a point I think where I just felt, as Forrest Gump said, ‘a little bit tired’.”

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Newey conceded that he had been mulling over the decision for a “little while now”, adding: “I guess [I had been thinking about it] over the winter a little bit and as events have unfolded this year.

“I’m in the very lucky position where I don’t need to work to live. I work because I enjoy it, and I just felt now was a good time to step back and take a bit of a break and take stock of life, go travelling a bit.

“I think with Mandy, my wife, and the dogs, we’ll probably go travelling, get a motorhome or something and go down through France and just enjoy life. Then maybe at some point, I don’t know when, I’ll say, ‘right, this is going to be the next adventure’. But right now there is no plan.”

Newey’s exit from Red Bull comes ahead of a fresh set of regulations being introduced in 2026, something that he acknowledges he has always relished.

“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,” the Briton said.

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“The two subsequent cars are evolutions of that car, and next year’s car will be the third evolution of that car, so it’s been a great series, one that surprised me [in terms of] just how much there is in these cars. When I first looked at the regulations I wasn’t so sure, but it’s been fun.”

But will Newey be a part of this process again for the 2026 season with another team? Speculation has continued over where the designer’s next destination could be, while drivers including Lewis Hamilton have expressed how much they would like to work with him.

On whether he could join Hamilton at Ferrari in the future, Newey responded: “It’s very kind of Lewis to say that, I’m very flattered, but at the moment it’s just [the plan to] take a little bit of a break and see what happens next.”