Adrian Newey has admitted that he would be open to join another Formula One team following his decision to leave Red Bull in 2025.
Earlier this month, the F1 design icon announced that he would be stepping down from his role as chief technical officer after nearly 20 years with Red Bull.
– Unlapped: How to listen or watch ESPN’s F1 show
– Adrian Newey – F1’s greatest designer and his cars
Widely regarded as the greatest designer in the sport, Newey has won 13 drivers’ championships and 12 constructors’ championships across three teams in his career.
In an interview hosted by Oyster Yachts, Newey spoke of how a combination of factors — seeing his father “lose his mojo” after retiring at 65, conversations with Bernie Ecclestone and Roger Penske as well as his love for his job — have led to him “seriously considering changing teams, going somewhere else and doing another four or five years or whatever.”
“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’ll probably go again,” Newey said.
Newey, who won 13 titles in 20 years with the team, spoke of his long-association with Red Bull and the role him and Christian Horner had played in building the team’s culture, ethos and even the building layout.
“It was a difficult decision [to leave] because they’d been my family. I felt almost … not paternal but a degree of responsibility.
“But equally the team is very mature, it’s very organised. So that gives me an opportunity to be able to walk away, look at new challenges, new things and let the team fly. I’m sure it still can.”
The 65-year-old admitted that the reaction to his departure took him by surprise.
“The Miami Grand Prix was strange because I was there in a strategy function, hence being on the pit wall. But wasn’t involved in any of the engineering decisions or engineering meetings. So I was being wheeled around for press basically.
“I never thought it would be big news to be perfectly honest, never really thought about it. To be in all the papers and on the telly [television] was almost a bit of a shock.”
Source: www.espn.com