Formula One design guru Adrian Newey says he will probably join a rival team after announcing his intention to leave reigning world champions Red Bull.
Earlier this month, Red Bull said the 65-year-old Briton, a key figure in their dominance, would leave in early 2025 following two decades with the British-based team.
Widely regarded as the greatest designer in the sport, Newey has been linked with Italian team Ferrari, who have signed seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to drive for them next season.
“I’ve wanted to work in motor racing as a designer since I was the age of eight or 10,” Newey said in an interview with his manager Eddie Jordan, a former F1 boss, for Oyster Yachts.
“I am lucky to have fulfilled that ambition, to have got that first job and been in motor racing ever since.
“Every day is just a bonus really. I love what I do.
“At some point I guess I will have a bit of a holiday. But as Forrest Gump said at the end of his long run, I feel a little bit tired at the moment but at some point I will probably go again.”
Newey has had a key role in 13 drivers’ world championships and a dozen constructors’ titles with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull.
“If you’d asked me 15 years ago, at the age of 65 would I be considering changing teams and going somewhere else and doing another four, five years or whatever, I’d have said you are absolutely mad,” Newey said.
“I feel a bit tired at the moment. (But) to walk away from (Red Bull Racing) was a very hard decision.”
Hamilton, speaking ahead of the Miami Grand Prix earlier this month, said Newey would be an “amazing addition” for Ferrari.
It was reported that Newey became unsettled after Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour by a female employee.
Horner, who denies the allegations, was cleared in February of wrongdoing by an internal investigation carried out by Red Bull’s parent company before the employee was then suspended. She is appealing that decision.
