Christian Horner Reveals Red Bull Approach In First Year Without Adrian Newey

Saajan Jogia | 19 Hours Ago

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull pioneering engineer and Chief Technical officer Adrian Newey on the grid before the F1 Sprint Race at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images / John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed the team's approach to the 2025 season following the exit of the team's chief technical officer and the sport's renowned aero guru Adrian Newey, and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley.

Newey left Red Bull to join Aston Martin as chief technical partner and shareholder, given his confidence in team owner Lawrence Stroll's ambition and the outfit's upcoming state-of-the-art facility in Silverstone.

The 66-year-old designer's most recent renowned creations have been Red Bull's dominant cars of the current ground effect era until last year, particularly the RB19 from 2023 that helped the team win 21 out of the 22 Grands Prix.

Wheatley, who is well-versed with the sport's regulations, moves to Sauber under its new dual management structure, set to be taken over by Audi.

Despite the two major exits from Red Bull, Horner believes the team has the "strength and depth" to cope with the situation, considering the tightening of the F1 grid as the sport enters the last season of the current era. Speaking to Motorsport.com, he said:

"There's only two going and obviously, Adrian left in Miami, so we haven't seen him. He's been working on the RB17 since then, so he's not been working on any F1 projects.

"Obviously, sad to see them go. They’ve both played important roles in the team over their tenure in the team.

“But the show goes on, and I think we’ve got the strength and depth we’ve got. We have that and arguably 2026 – what we're gearing up for in 2026 with our own power unit – is by far the biggest challenge and the most ambitious project this team has ever taken on.  

"So, 2025, Jonathan will step off the pitwall, but other than that, everything remains the same."

The Milton Keynes outfit made internal changes following the key staff exits to leverage internal talent and elevate them to higher roles, including Max Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase.

Former senior strategy engineer Stephen Knowles assumes the role of head of sporting regulations, while senior engineer of car engineering Richard Wolverson will become the team's head of racing operations. Horner refused to call it a Red Bull rebuild, saying:

"I would say rebuild goes way too far for two people that have left. It's evolution.

"It's something that has been on the cards for a little while, so something that has been part of the planning for some time."

Speaking on Lambiase's role, he said:

"Yes, he’ll still be working directly with Max. He just takes on a broader role, obviously, as he steps up."

He added:

"It's just a natural progression trackside with those personnel.  

"It's great because it gives them an opportunity and sometimes an organisation, if it remains stagnant, it fails to progress.

“So, I think this is a fantastic opportunity of progression for many people in the team that have been long standing team members that deserve that opportunity."