Following a nearly two-decade stint with Red Bull’s Formula 1 team, famed race-car designer Adrian Newey is stepping down from his role as the squad’s chief technical officer in the first quarter of next year. The 65-year-old Newey is an absolute unicorn when it comes to designing vehicles responsible for winning championships and spanning series that include IndyCar, IMSA, and.
Why step away from such smashing success? Reports abounded of a falling out between Newey and the Red Bull team as a result of team principal Christian Horner’s alleged sexual harassment scandal and the resulting internal investigation, though ESPN sources claim Newey’s departure was already known and unrelated to Horner.
For the 2010 season, Newey stretched the back of the chassis to accommodate a double diffuser while adding a contested-but-legal front wing. The RB6 won nine of the season’s 18 races, earning Sebastian Vettel the World Drivers’ Championship and Red Bull the World Constructors’ title, ending Newey’s 11-year dry spell. In 2022, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez achieved a staggering 77.3 percent win rate in Newey’s RB19, which was his most successful car ever. Until 2023.