Formula 1's Cost Cap Rules Prevented Red Bull From Retaining Adrian Newey

Saajan Jogia | Oct 11, 2024

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 highlighted how the current cost cap restrictions prevented the team from countering Aston Martin's offer to its chief technical officer, Adrian Newey. The aero guru will join the Silverstone outfit as a managing technical partner and shareholder in March 2025.

Under Formula 1's cost cap regulations, the salaries of all operational staff are included in the budget, with the exception of the top three earners, whose identities remain undisclosed. Red Bull noted that the ability to make competitive counter-offers has diminished, as the cost cap era has significantly restricted spending flexibility.

In addition to Newey, who played a pivotal role in Red Bull's success during the current ground effect era with his dominant car designs, the team is also grappling with the departure of sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. With the next available role being that of team principal currently held by Horner, who is here to stay, Wheatley sought opportunities elsewhere. He secured a significant offer from Audi to become team principal at Sauber for the 2025 season. Notably, Sauber will be taken over by the German automaker in 2026.

Horner revealed that Newey had his retirement in mind since the end of 2023. However, the offer from Aston Martin changed things for him. When asked if Red Bull's internal conflict led to his departure, the team boss told Motorsport.com:

"I think you've got a perfect storm that's very easy to say, well, this caused that, and that caused this. But the reality is that all the things are totally unrelated.

"Adrian leaving the team was something that already, at the back end of 2023, he was growing somewhat, I think, conflicted in his own mind.

"The agreement that we had was at the end of '25 he was going to step back from F1 and really just be a mentor. Otherwise, I was going to lose the other [technical] guys to some rival teams.

"But I think he felt that his time in F1 wasn't done, and so he made decisions for his own reasons which are understandable."

Horner then hinted that Aston Martin's offer was something that Red Bull was unable to match. He added:

"The deal he's got from Aston with equity and so on, is something that quite simply wasn't on the table here.

"I can understand, Adrian wants another run around the block in F1, and as a shareholder and partner in a team, I certainly don't blame him for that.

"But we live in a cost cap world now, where F1 is very different to what it was even five years ago, where 90% of our time is spent focused on: what can you afford to do within the cap?

"With the $140 million that you've got to spend, every penny has got to be spent very wisely. And of course, over the years, the bigger teams, sometimes they carry a bit of fat in them. What the cost cap has driven is efficiency."