Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has dashed Lewis Hamilton’s hopes that design chief Adrian Newey could join the seven-time world champion at Ferrari next year, as the team principal revealed Newey’s plans for the future. The outgoing chief technology officer confirmed that he would be leaving Red Bull after nearly two decades at the team this week, sparking rumours that Ferrari and Hamilton may benefit from his potential arrival.
Newey, who was a key part of two dominant Red Bull eras, has been heavily linked with a move to Ferrari after previously admitting that he wished he had worked with Hamilton at some point in their glittering careers.
Hamilton then issued a public plea hoping to work with the 71-year-old alongside Charles Leclerc and team principal Frederic Vasseur in Italy, but Horner believes that Newey will instead look to take a break from Formula One as opposed to joining one of Red Bull’s rivals.
“If I was to do a list of people I would love to work with, he would absolutely be at the top of it,” Hamilton said on Thursday. “Any team would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him.”
But Hamilton may need to brace himself for some disappointing news, with Horner hinting that Newey will step away from F1. He told Sky Sports: “I think Adrian has had such a wonderful career, he has been hard at it for the past 30 years, seven years at Williams, seven years at McLaren and the best part of 20 years with ourselves, speaking with him we have reached the point where the team is in great shape and performing at such a high level.
“He feels it is the right time to step away and take a bit of time out. He’s still going to be working on his RB17 (hypercar), the track car that we’re designing, but he felt that now was the time to take a break. I think he’s going to take some time out first. He’s 65 years of age and I think he’s earned that right to have a bit of time out, spend some time with his wife and family.
“That’s what he’s very keen to do. If he decides he wants to have another run at F1, who knows? The ironic thing is, Adrian has always hated every single regulation change.
“2026 is a unique one because it’s both chassis and engine regulations. It’s a very different world these days with the cost cap and the restrictions we have on resources.”
Newey is yet to publicly declare his intentions moving forward, having issued a statement confirming that he will be parting ways with Red Bull in the first quarter of 2025, a year earlier than his contract expiration date after only penning that deal in May.
