Ex-F1 Red Bull Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner faced the question about Adrian Newey directly in an interview with Up To Speed. He recounted the day he learned Newey wanted to leave, the internal pressure that shaped his response and the enviornment that once made their partnership flourish.
The day the news broke
Horner first reflected on the length of the partnership. Having joined Red Bull in 2006, it was an 18-year partnership full of success and milestones.
“I think, look, Adrian, we enjoyed such a long period, almost 20 years with Adrian. Every other team he’d been at has only ever made seven years. I’m proud of the fact that he was with us for almost 20 years.”
That tenure had built something deeper than a simple working relationships.
“And during that period, you build a friendship. He’s called father to my daughter. And we had some wonderful times. You know, together and we’re partners, we’re buddies, we’re colleagues. And of course, that gets challenged at different junctures, junctures in time.”
The ex-CEO turned to the difficulty of the conversation itself.
“It’s something that perhaps, you know, maybe it’s a British thing, but dealing with emotion can be quite and dealing with difficult topics can be, you know, we’re not very good at unpacking.”
The phone call
Horner received a phone call informing him that Newey wanted to leave. The designer was in an office across the road. Horner went to see him.
“I got a phone call to say that Adrian [Newey] wants to leave and he’s in the office over the road from me. So I went to see him and said, ‘what’s all this about?’ And it’d been obvious for a little period that, you know, he was– frustrations were growing and, you know, things can’t stay the same forever.”
The exchange took an unexpected turn when Newey directed Horner to his representation. “And he said, you’re going to need to speak to my manager as well. Who’s your manager? He said, Eddie Jordan. I thought he was joking.”
The reply caught Horner off guard. “And he said, ‘you’re going to have to speak to Eddie.’ I said, he’ll have you play football or something. You know, so, but, you know, that’s just, you know, that’s how it ended.”
Newey’s departure from Red Bull was announced in May 2024, with his move to Aston Martin confirmed later that year. Reports of his exit had circulated for months following a case involving Horner. He was cleared by an investigation but faced questions about a rift within the team.
The pressure behind it
Asked about how much self-reflection he undertook, Horner described being torn between friendship and organisation duty.
“Well, yeah, the problem that I had, and this is where you’re torn between your friendship and, you know, your relationship. So, and what is right for the team and the company, I was coming under enormous pressure internally from the company that, you know, things didn’t change. Five team members, key team members were looking at leaving.
“So it was putting me under enormous pressure.”
Horner’s self-reflection for Newey leaving F1 Red Bull
He was pressed on what needed to change. Horner pointed to Newey’s split responsibilities.
“In just the working dynamics. Adrian was obviously splitting his time between advanced technology and [F1]. And there was a feeling that he needed to hand over the keys more.”
Horner framed the tension as a leader’s obligation to keep an organisation evolving.
“And so, you know, you’re then in a conflicted situation where it’s your mate and buddy. And that you’ve been on this journey with, but also as a CEO of an organisation that’s got to keep, you know, evolving and finding the right route forward.”
The internal pressure was not abstract. Several key figures departed Red Bull in the same period. Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley left in 2024 to become Audi’s team principal. Will Courtenay, head of strategy, moved to McLaren as sporting director. Earlier, chief engineering officer Rob Marshall also joined McLaren after 17 years at Red Bull.
What made the partnership work
Asked what he understood about Newey that others may have missed, Horner credited a specific approach to managing his creativity.
“I think I tried to provide an environment where he could just be himself and flourish. And without the, you know, without getting bogged down by process or, you know, protocols. It gave him freedom.”
He went on to compare Newey’s role to that of an artist. “Adrian [Newey] is very much, you know, he’s the most successful designer in [F1] history. And it was a matter of like an artist, giving them their freedom to go and create without the overhead of having to manage large groups of people.”
The results followed. “And he thrived in, you know, that feeding off the team, you know, around him, bouncing ideas, pushing the boundaries. I mean, he was relentless, you know, during that period and, you know, achieved some amazing, amazing highs.”
The numbers behind the Horner-Newey era at Red Bull underline what that freedom produced. Together they delivered six constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ championships. Along with that, 118 race wins and 101 pole positions. Sebastian Vettel swept four consecutive doubles from 2010 to 2013 in the Newey-designed RB6 through RB9.
Max Verstappen then added three drivers’ crowns from 2021 to 2023 in the RB16B, RB18 and RB19, with the 2023 car setting the highest win percentage in F1 history. That record gives Horner’s talk to freedom its clearest evidence.
Looking ahead
Horner said the two men reconnected afterward, and the relationship continued away from the factory. “And, you know, we met after that and we’ve had dinner since then. And, yeah, you know, it was just a shame it ended in that way. But, you know, I understand it.”
He acknowledged the difficult from Newey’s side. “It was probably too hard for Adrian [Newey] to unpack at that moment, which, you know, that’s fine.”
