Adrian Newey, the most self-deprecating genius in Formula One history, was on Thursday plunged right into the furore that has engulfed Red Bull and their team principal Christian Horner.
The two men are inseparable at trackside. They walk in together and walk out together. They drink coffees together. They put their brains together.
So it was a serious jolt to Horner when news broke that Newey, the greatest designer in the sport’s history, would be leaving the team. Red Bull have not confirmed the revelations — but those who are jilted are always the last to know.
Speculation has been raging for weeks that Newey might be off. It is suggested his wife Amanda has been scoping out properties in Italy, where they might live if he heads for Ferrari and a final chapter in a life in F1 that has taken in successes at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull.
Ferrari and an involvement with Lewis Hamilton would be the perfect coda, not least if they offered him money of stratospheric proportions.
Adrian Newey, left, is the mastermind behind the car taking Max Verstappen to glory, right,
Horner, the 50-year-old husband of Geri Halliwell, centre, knows that his survival is to an extent linked to the employment of Newey, right
Red Bull were last night trying to keep hold of their prime asset. Newey works in the office next to Horner, who in the last few months has been accused of sending 𝑠e𝑥ually suggestive messages to a female employee.
He was cleared by an internal investigation. An appeal process is taking place and the woman concerned this week gave evidence to a KC reviewing the original evidence.
Horner, the 50-year-old husband of Geri Halliwell, knows that his survival is, to an extent, linked to Newey’s employment. If his star man, other than world champion Max Verstappen, were to quit, he would be left in danger of being an emperor with no clothes.
And Verstappen’s place in the team, where he is on target to march to his fourth world title, would be in question — could he be tempted elsewhere? Without Verstappen and Newey, where would Horner be left? In office, but not in power?
That may not come to pass. Red Bull and Newey may yet build bridges and he may stay. They have survived courtships with Ferrari before, and managed to get a deal over the line.
That happened not long before lockdown, when Red Bull offered him eye-watering money, conservatively estimated to be £10million a year. It was a lot more, I think.
They also gave him freedom. He had a role in yachting and a reduced schedule. He was helped by others, including Pierre Wache, a French designer, but by fact and repute Newey remained supreme in the firmament.
There was niggle, though, the Newey camp resentful of Wache’s rising star.
If Max Verstappen, centre, were to join Newey in quitting Red Bull it would leave Horner in danger of being an emperor with no clothes
Newey has been tipped with following Lewis Hamilton in making the move to join Ferrari
What it means for Hamilton (if anything) and Newey is uncertain but it is a body blow for Horner. He is in a strong position in many ways, vindicated by an internal inquiry. Verstappen romps away with almost every grand prix, meanwhile. And, so, to the political side of this. Which is as important as the accusations against Horner — and, it should be underlined, there is no evidence of a relationship beyond flirtation with the employee.
There is a power struggle in the background — the one of which Newey has grown tired.
There is the Horner camp. That is led by Chalerm Yoovidhya, the majority shareholder of Red Bull, the energy drinks company. He is a Thai billionaire and has remained loyal to Horner through the controversies.
On the other side, Mark Mateschitz, 31, successor to his father Dietrich, who died of cancer in 2022.
Mateschitz, it is thought, wants rid of Horner. Too big for his boots, they say. The two factions seem to be at war.
Bernie Ecclestone, among Formula One’s most important figures, though deposed in fact, remains an unbending ally of Horner and a key mover behind the scenes. A man of total loyalty, no matter what HMRC may say, was his best man, and the other way around.
Horner’s future as Red Bull principal depends as much on the gems that remain around him as well as the outcome of the inquiry review
Speaking to him on Thursday night, off the record mostly, he thought Newey’s probable departure was hardly the most encouraging news for his pal. We’re back to an emperor without clothes.
I rang Horner, but no reply. He had been to the F1 Commission meeting in Geneva, but that agenda was clearly not the first consideration on his mind. The Newey news was.
There is also the matter of Verstappen. Will he stay? He does not like controversy at all. He wants a winning car. He has one. His relationship with Horner is transactional, maybe a bit warmer than that, but not much.
Christian Horner’s future depends not on the verdict of the inquiry review entirely, but as much as on what gems are left around him.
