'I wouldn't be true to myself if…'- Adrian Newey drops bombshell on Red Bull exit.

Adrian Newey is one of the prominent faces of F1 who has been part of the sport for almost 40 years. The legendary car designer is part of many championship-winning teams like Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull racing. Many drivers like Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen have won Formula 1 championships with Newey-designed cars.

His longest tenure was with the Austrian F1 brand Red Bull which started from 2006 to 2024. In this nearly two-decade-long journey, Adrian Newey created some of the most successful cars like RB6, RB7, RB8, RB9, RB17, RB18, RB19, and RB20.

Among these, the RB9 and RB19 are the most dominant cars with which Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen dominated the entire grid by winning both the F1 titles.

In 2024, he shocked everyone by announcing that he would leave Red Bull and join Aston Martin. Initially, he was speculated with Ferrari to work alongside Lewis Hamilton. But Lawrence Stroll was the man who made Newey the offer that he couldn't refuse and brought him to the Aston Martin team to work alongside Fernando Alonso.

Stroll also brought Honda as an engine partner from the 2026 season as Red Bull will join hands with Ford for their independent powertrains. Adrian Newey will be a Managing technical partner helping Aston Martin design their upcoming race machines for the 2025 season and beyond. 

"I wouldn't be true to myself if I stayed"- Adrian Newey

Talking about his exit from Red Bull Racing, Adrian Newey dropped a bombshell. He said “I think if you’d said to me 12 months ago, would I be leaving Red Bull and then now ultimately starting again, I’d have said ‘No, you're crazy’. But for various reasons, I felt I wouldn't be true to myself if I stayed at Red Bull.”

Newey added “So the first difficult decision was exactly that: do I stay or not at Red Bull? So I obviously came to the conclusion that, in being honest to myself, I couldn’t.” The British racing car designer also pointed out that he didn't need any more money as he would be happy enjoying retirement sitting on the beach. But being in racing is what gives him enjoyment and joy. Newey’s departure from the team was visible in Red Bull's performance after May as the team slumped and became the third-fastest team behind McLaren and Ferrari.

Newey revealed that the CFD and Simulator data didn't match at the end of the 2023 season. The car became un-drivable and the upgrades became ineffective. Max wasn't happy with the car but he could handle the car well and win races. But that was not the case with Checo, as he couldnt handle it and his performance slid down leading to his sacking.

Also Read: Did Christian Horner's investigation lead to Adrian Newey's Red Bull exit? The legendary designer answers