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Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner expressed his surprise at Adrian Newey's departure from Red Bull, particularly noting that the latter will be able to join another team in 2025. The ace designer had been with the team since 2006, making his departure surprising for many.
An even bigger surprise was that Adrian Newey would cease any kind of involvement in Red Bull's current F1 project immediately. Instead, he would focus on the road car RB19 and officially leave Milton Keynes after the first quarter of 2025. The surprise element here is that, conventionally, this is not how technical personnel's departure takes place.
More often than not, the departure involves a gardening leave that extends to a year before they can join any other team. The reason behind such a gardening leave is that it prevents any confidential information from passing from one team to another.
The fact that Red Bull didn't impose it surprised Guenther Steiner, as he told RacingNews365,
"What surprised me is that he can go and work for another team already next year, I think we are all surprised by that one. Red Bull will have a good 2025 car with or without Adrian. Will he change a car in 2025 if he joins a team in '25? No."
He added,
"But it is 2026, that is what I always see in F1. The short-term, that is what I always see in F1, it is very clearly written down what is happening and in the medium to long-term, it is about who will be at which place in two or three years. That is what is needed now in Formula 1, with your investments and your people because everything is so long-term."
Steiner feels post-Red Bull Adrian Newey would be a good fit at Ferrari
When it comes to Adrian Newey's future, speculation is rife that he could go to Ferrari. According to Steiner, he does not see Newey working in a permanent role at this age. He did, however, feel that Fred Vasseur would find a way to accommodate someone like Newey, who brings a wealth of knowledge to the team.
Steiner felt Ferrari could be the next destination for Adrian Newey as he said,
"It is a little bit like the Lewis thing, that did surprise me, but am I shocked? No. Adrian was there a long time, and it is just one of things with all the stuff which happened at the beginning of the year - I don't know the details of it and maybe there some friction there. He just decided that: 'I want to do something else before I retire because he still good."
He added,
"I would think at the moment that he would fit in, but I don't know in which role. I don't know if he wants to work the whole year, or just giving concept idea and stuff like this, but I think Fred [Vasseur, Ferrari Team Principal], would make it work that he fits in there. And then obviously working with Lewis, it would be quite a cool thing to do for both of them."
Red Bull losing Adrian Newey is certainly a major blow for the team. However, uncertainty looms over where the ace designer goes next, as he has almost a year to take that call.
