Adrian Newey has clarified the state of his relationship with Christian Horner after the former Red Bull Racing team principal made critical remarks about him while promoting his new memoir. Newey, who joined Red Bull in 2006 and designed all of the team's championship-winning cars, left the team in 2024 and later signed with Aston Martin.
Horner's Criticism in Memoir
During interviews for his memoir, published this week, Horner said he had been frustrated by Newey showing signs of wanting to leave Red Bull a decade earlier. In 2014, after four consecutive titles with Sebastian Vettel, Mercedes emerged as the dominant force in Formula 1, winning eight constructors' championships in a row. Red Bull struggled with Renault engines that could not compete with Mercedes' power unit.
Horner said: "At the first sign of adversity, Adrian wanted to abandon ship. I felt very sad about that. I couldn't rely on him any more. Our partnership was not as solid as I'd previously believed."
Newey's Response
Asked about the remarks in Austin on Friday, ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Newey admitted he was "in conversation" about leaving at that time but provided context for his thinking. He said: "As a chassis designer then, if the PU manufacturer has a bad year, that happens and you accept it. But 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. And that's the situation that, unfortunately, I faced in 2014."
He added: "As it turned out, that situation didn't really change with that supplier until we changed to Honda in 2019. So you can imagine my pain and frustration at that. I don't think Christian fully understood that, perhaps. But I was in conversation."
Relationship Status
Horner also said he was "blind-sided" by Newey's decision to leave in 2024. In the memoir, he described confronting Newey after learning he had informed a shareholder of his intention to leave, only to be told to speak to his then-manager, Eddie Jordan.
Newey later said publicly he left for a fresh challenge because things were "getting stale" at Red Bull. Reports at the time also cited internal power struggles and the personal scandal involving Horner, who was accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female colleague and cleared by two independent KCs hired by Red Bull GmbH.
Despite the criticism, Newey told reporters in Austin that his relationship with Horner remains strong. He said: "Christian and I remain friends. As many of you know, I am godfather to his daughter, Olivia."
