Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Aston Martin star Fernando Alonso disagree with the notion that Adrian Newey can turn an entire team around on his own. The F1 design master has effectively left his post as Red Bull’s chief technical officer and Aston are the favourites to snap him up ahead of next season.
Newey has been bound by an agreement with Red Bull to hold off from making announcements about his future until the start of September at the earliest, according to The Mirror. With the shackles of that agreement now lifted, news of the 65-year-old’s next destination could be just around the corner.
Red Bull’s form has tailed off dramatically since Newey decided he would leave his role in the wake of off-track drama involving Horner. But the team principal does not believe that the nosedive is down to the design chief’s departure.
“We would have had all of these issues because the issues were already there, and one man’s input could never be so dramatic so quickly,” said Horner.
“(The issues) started to really highlight themselves in Miami, and Adrian was plugged in up until Friday of Miami, so there’s no way it would have been impacted so quickly. Formula One is a team sport, it’s a team issue, and the team will come up with a resolution.”
Alonso could soon be welcoming Newey to Aston Martin if they manage to thrash out a deal. The team are in desperate need of help, with only 74 points on the board this season and no podiums to show for their efforts.
But Alonso agrees with Horner in that one person, no matter how lofty their reputation, can change a team’s fortunes on their own. “I think it’s not only one man’s job to fix things,” he said after finishing out of the points in Monza. Alonso also insisted that Newey’s move to Aston, which is becoming increasingly likely, is ‘still only a rumour’.
It remains to be seen how soon Alonso, Horner and their respective teams will receive clarity on Newey’s future now he is free to make an announcement. Though his exit has come as a major blow, Red Bull currently have bigger fish to dry in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
With McLaren the form outfit of the field, Red Bull are only eight points ahead in the team standings and being reeled in quickly. Meanwhile Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has a 62-point lead over McLaren’s Lando Norris in the individual table.
