F1 News: Red Bull Chief Brands Eddie Jordan 'F***ing Silent Assassin' After Surprise Adrian Newey Exit

Red Bull Racing's Christian Horner labeled Eddie Jordan a 'f***ing silent assassin' for his role in the early departure negotiations of Adrian Newey.

Adrian Newey / Red Bull Content Pool

Adrian Newey's manager and former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan has recounted a hilarious moment during the exit negotiations of the Chief Technical Officer, when Red Bull team principal called Jordan a 'f***ing silent assassin'.

It was confirmed ahead of the Miami Grand Prix that Newey will be leaving the Austrian team after the first quarter of 2025. Speaking on his podcast with David Coulthard, Formula For Success, Jordan revealed some details from the contract negotiations which saw Newey's garden leave significantly reduced. Jordan explained, as quoted by Planet F1:

“Christian, do you know what he called me? Do you know what he called me when he found this? First of all, his jaw was somewhere around near the end of his trousers. You know, it’s quite a big jaw in the first place, but he called me: ‘Ah, EJ, you’re a f***ing silent assassin.'

“So I don’t know what a silent assassin is. Maybe you could tell us, DC [David Coulthard], what is that?”

Coulthard responded, commenting:

“Well, you’d rather be a silent assassin than somebody hearing you coming.

“No-one saw that coming at all. Nobody knew you were managing Adrian.”

It is currently not clear what Newey will do next career-wise. Speaking of his exit, he revealed that in the short-term he will be taking some time out with family to travel. However, he left the door slightly open for a potential return to the F1 paddock. Numerous rumors have circulating about a potential move to Ferrari to work alongside seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, as well as moves to either Aston Martin or Williams. Newey explained to former F1 driver and Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle:

"F1 is all consuming. I've been at it for a long time now.

"2021 was a really busy year because of the tight battle with Mercedes, through the championship and at the same time, putting all the research into the RB18 [the 2022 car].

"There comes a point where I just felt, as Forrest Gump said, 'I'm feeling a little bit tired'.

"It's very kind of Lewis to say that. I'm very flattered. At the moment, it's just take a bit of a break and see what happens next."

Newey continued:

"I think Mandy my wife and the dogs will go travelling and get a motorhome or something, go down through France and just enjoy life," said Newey.

"Then maybe at some point I will stand in the shower and say 'right, this is going to be the next adventure'.

"But right now, there is no plan."