Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s chief technological officer, has announced his departure after 19 years of employment.

He will depart the team in the first quarter of 2026, giving him the opportunity to sign with a competitor before the new technical regulations for Formula One are implemented in 2026.Red Bull said that Newey will immediately stop working on the team’s F1 car and focus on their upcoming RB17 track car.

Red Bull’s design team, under Newey’s direction, produced two generations of cars that dominated Formula 1. His exit will be a huge loss for the current world champions.

“It has been a great honor for me to have contributed significantly over the past nearly 20 years to Red Bull Racing’s transformation from a struggling new team to a multi-title winning squad,” Newey said. “But I think this is a good time to pass the reins to other people and take on new challenges for myself.”

Following months of conjecture that the 65-year-old was dissatisfied with Red Bull’s response to accusations made against team principal Christian Horner, Newey’s resignation has been long-rumored.

Shortly before the season started, Horner was exonerated of inappropriate behavior following an internal investigation. Red Bull, however, has not disclosed any information regarding the probe, and the complainant has filed an appeal.

Red Bull’s purchase of Newey in 2005 from competitor McLaren contributed to the foundation for their championship run from 2010 to 2013. His most recent design generation took the team to previously unheard-of success levels.

According to Newey, the team is in a strong position to rule Formula One for the foreseeable future.

He remarked, “I would like to thank the many amazing people I have worked with at Red Bull for their talent, dedication, and hard work over the last 18 years.” It has been an incredible honor, and I have no doubt that the engineering team is ready for the work that has to be done to get the automobile to its ultimate state within the four years that this legislation is in place.

“On a personal level, I also want to express my gratitude to Christian, who has been my business partner and a friend of our families, as well as the shareholders, the late Dietrich Mateschitz, Mark Mateschitz, and Chalerm Yoovidhya, for their unflinching support during my time at Red Bull. I would also want to thank my manager and close friend Eddie Jordan, as well as Oliver Mintzlaff for his stewardship.

According to Horner, Newey was essential to every triumph the squad has experienced thus far. Adrian has always had his hand on the technical tiller at our most memorable moments during the previous 20 years.

“We’ve won 13 titles in 20 seasons because to his vision and genius. His remarkable talent for embracing change and identifying the most rewarding areas of the rules to focus on, his unwavering will to win, and his exceptional ability to conceptualize beyond Formula One and bring wider inspiration to bear on the design of grand prix cars have all contributed to Red Bull Racing’s rise to prominence, beyond anything I believe even the late Dietrich Mateschitz could have predicted.

More than that, I have had a great time spending the last 19 years with Adrian. I considered Adrian to be a superstar designer even before he joined Red Bull. 

Thirteen titles and twenty years later, he departs as a real legend. In addition, he is a friend of mine, and I will always be appreciative of all that he contributed to our collaboration. Milton Keynes’ hallways will be reverberating with his legacy, and the RB17 race vehicle will serve as a fitting memorial to his time spent here.