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Adrian Newey’s position as Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer is rumoured to be in doubt in an internal push to move him out of the championship-winning race team, according to reports in the German media.
Auto Motor und Sport has reported that longstanding design boss Newey is unhappy about a proposal from principal Christian Horner to redirect him solely to the brand’s hypercar project, the RB17.
The £5 million ($9.66 million) RB17 is a Newey-designed track car capable of F1-level performance. It originated in the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, and production is planned to begin next year.
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Newey has almost single-handedly built Red Bull Racing’s design office, having joined the team ahead of its second season in Formula 1 and overseen it ever since.
Reports suggest the shock move would ostensibly be for budget reasons.
Budget cap rules allow for unrestricted spending on the three highest paid members of staff in each team, not including the drivers.
However, from 2026 the sport’s governing body, the FIA, plans to close a loophole that allows teams to report only part of an employee’s salary if they work on projects outside of Formula 1.
For example, an employee who spends 40 per cent of their time on F1 and 60 per cent of their time on an unrelated project would have only 40 per cent of their salary captured by the cost cap.
From 2026 all employees could have 100 per cent of their salary contribute to the cost cap regardless of their workload.
Horner said last year that Newey spends only 50 per cent of his time working on the F1 car, with the balance spent on other projects, including the RB17 hypercar.
It’s speculated that this allows Newey to be kept on a lofty retainer without him taking up one of the three full-time positions on unrestricted pay.
RBR isn’t believed to be the only team using this accounting strategy, which is allowed under the regulations.
According to Autosport, however, the team has denied Newey will be moving out of the squad any time soon.
Newey is scheduled to next appear trackside at the Japanese Grand Prix. It is not unusual for him to skip races.
Italian website Motorsport has further reported that shifting Newey off the race team’s payroll would be temporary, with the 2024 car’s very healthy advantage requiring little additional input from Newey but with work on the all-new 2026 car not allowed to begin until next January.
PIT TALK PODCAST: While Red Bull Racing are dominating on the track, off the track the team is eating itself, with Max Verstappen the latest high-profile identity to be linked to a potential exit in the fast-moving political drama.
Horner poached Newey from McLaren as the first big move of his tenure as a new team principal.
The pair was rumoured to have linked contracts that would allow one to exit the team if the other left.
However, F1 Insider reported earlier this year that Newey has assured Red Bull he would remain loyal to the team in the event Horner was forced from Milton Keynes following the investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour against the team boss.
Horner was later exonerated by the investigation, though the fallout from the process continues to rock the team and the sport.
Ferrari is reportedly circling Red Bull Racing hoping to capitalise on the chaos engulfing the team, with three key technical personnel on the hit list.
Newey and his technical director, Pierre Waché, were reportedly approached by the Scuderia last year but both turned down the overtures.
Newey agreed to a contract extension with Red Bull Racing last May. Though the deal’s length hasn’t been confirmed, Horner suggested it would take him into the new regulatory era in 2026, giving him the chance to design a car with an engine built in-house for the first time at the team.
Motorsport reports that Waché is less likely to be locked in and could be a greater risk of leaving the team. Despite managing the design office day to day, Red Bull Racing’s success is regularly credited to the legendary Newey, leaving the 49-year-old Frenchman externally overlooked.
Newey and Waché are far from the only high-profile management figures linked to possible exits from Red Bull Racing.
Helmut Marko revealed at the weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that he was at risk of being suspended by Red Bull in Austria, with rumours suggesting he’s been linked to an internal inquiry into media leaks during the Horner investigation.
Marko’s revelation prompted an emphatic defence from Max Verstappen, who directly linked his future at the team to the Austrian adviser remaining in place.
Subsequent talks between Marko and Red Bull top brass appeared to smooth the waters, with Marko saying after the race that he believed he was in the clear, though he emphasised that he wanted peace to return to the team if he’s to continue.
Verstappen’s father, Jos, has said the team will only return to peace with the ousting of Horner from the top job.
Verstappen is contracted to race at Red Bull Racing until 2028, but his position at the team remains in doubt.
Horner gave an equivocal response when asked about the chance his star driver could leave before his contract expires.
“It’s like anything in life,” Horner said, per Autosport. “You can’t force somebody to be somewhere just because of a piece of paper.
“If somebody didn’t want to be at this team, then we’re not going to force somebody against their will to be here.
“That applies whether it’s a machine operator or a designer or somebody in one of the support functions that runs through the business.”
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