Red Bull Racing chief technical officer Adrian Newey appears to have taken the next step towards leaving the team and has handed in his letter of resignation.
The 65-year-old’s future has been a key talking point heading into the Miami Grand Prix.
A report from the German outlet Motorsport Total has shared more details about Adrian Newey’s immediate future and where he could be heading next.
Adrian Newey hands in resignation letter ahead of Red Bull exit
At the start of 2024, everything was going swimmingly well at Red Bull from the outside.
Max Verstappen had just won his third world championship and Sergio Perez was the first driver to secure a one-two for the team in the Drivers’ Championship.
Red Bull were miles clear of Mercedes and Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship and only Carlos Sainz in Singapore denied them a clean sweep of Grand Prix victories.
However, internal politics have taken centre stage within the team this season, leaving Christian Horner in a much less secure position.
Toto Wolff has sensed an opportunity and wants to bring Max Verstappen to Mercedes with Helmut Marko potentially following him.
Adrian Newey has been essential to Red Bull’s success over the past decade or so but his resignation signals a new era could be arriving very soon.
With regulation changes coming in 2026, that level of indecision won’t sit well with Verstappen’s camp.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Adrian Newey has five options for 2025
The report from Motorsport Total suggests that after 18 years, Newey has ‘formally submitted’ his resignation to Red Bull.
They believe an official statement from the team is expected before the start of the Miami Grand Prix.
Whether that’s going to have an impact on Verstappen and Perez’s performance is yet to be seen, however, it’s been a turbulent year for the team and they’ve still won four out of five races.
Motorsport Total suggests that Newey will leave Red Bull at the start of 2025 at the latest and they won’t want him working with a new manufacturer any time soon.
However, there are reportedly five options on the table for Newey including joining four of Red Bull’s rivals or walking away from the sport altogether.
Those teams are Mercedes, Aston Martin, McLaren and Ferrari.
Which option should Adrian Newey choose for next season?
It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Newey walked away from the sport and started ‘a new career in technical consulting’ as Motorsport Total suggests.
Newey will almost certainly have a long gardening leave period in his Red Bull contract after handing in his resignation, but that might suit one team.
Aston Martin are willing to throw a huge amount of money at Newey, and while that’s not a big selling point for the 65-year-old, it does mean they can potentially buy him out of his contract.
He’s already worked for McLaren in the past and he’s likely to want a new challenge, while Motorsport Total suggest the time it would take to turn around the Mercedes means that role doesn’t appeal to him.
That leaves Ferrari and BBC journalist Andrew Benson has already said that he’s ‘seriously considering’ a move to Maranello.
It would be a long-awaited chance to work with Lewis Hamilton and might just be the combination to finally win Ferrari a title they’ve waited nearly two decades for.
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