Adrian Newey has pushed back against criticism from former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, suggesting Horner failed to understand his severe frustration during the team’s struggles with Renault engines in 2014. The remarks follow revelations in Horner’s new autobiography, Drive, regarding Newey nearly leaving for Ferrari.
Fantasy & Market Impact
- Aston Martin’s experience draws parallels to early Red Bull days as Newey tries to get everybody working together and improve the culture.
The 2014 Turbo-Hybrid Breaking Point
During their 19-year tenure together at Red Bull, Horner and Newey secured dominant title runs with Sebastian Vettel from 2010 to 2013 and Max Verstappen from 2021 to 2024. But the introduction of V6 turbo-hybrid power units in 2014 fractured that harmony. As skysports.com reported, Red Bull’s reliance on Renault engines yielded a steep performance deficit against Mercedes.
🚨 | Adrian Newey has reportedly shut down Christian Horner's chances of becoming Aston Martin team principal.Newey wants somebody else:https://t.co/aMaU8htjr5
In his book Drive, Horner recounted how Newey received an offer from Ferrari mid-way through 2014 and contemplated a departure. I stood behind him and believed that he stood behind me as well. But at the first sign of adversity, Adrian wanted to abandon ship. I felt very sad about that,
Horner wrote, adding that he could no longer rely on his star designer.
Addressed during a press conference ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Newey offered a sharp counter-perspective on the engine crisis. If the PU manufacturer has a bad year and doesn’t appear to have any intention of trying to address the problem, that’s altogether a different matter and that’s quite bleak at that point,
Newey stated. He noted that the supplier situation only truly improved when Red Bull switched to Honda power in 2019. So, you can imagine my pain and frustration at that. I don’t think Christian fully understood that, perhaps.
Parallels in Silverstone and Ongoing Relations
Despite the historical friction and Horner’s published criticisms, Newey maintained that personal ties remain intact. As skysports.com noted, Newey is the godfather to Horner’s daughter Olivia, and the veteran designer affirmed that the two remain friends despite staying silent on the book’s broader contents.
Horner recently pointed out structural similarities between Newey’s current task at Aston Martin—where Newey serves as team principal and managing technical partner following his 2024 departure from Red Bull—and the early years of rebuilding the Milton Keynes squad after the energy drink giant bought Jaguar in 2005. Newey concurred with that assessment.
I think there are actually a lot of parallels between when I started at Red Bull and when I’ve started at Aston Martin,
Newey explained, pointing to historical turmoil, ownership shifts, and managerial changes. It’s then really trying to get everybody working together, try to break down silos, improve the culture. And that’s been exactly the same again.
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