Formula 1 designer Adrian Newey will not be moving from Red Bull to McLaren: What McLaren boss Zak Brown is planning instead for the future of his racing team
Not only is the driver market exciting ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season, but also the question of what Adrian Newey’s future looks like. After all, the famous designer is being courted by practically every other team following his announced departure from Red Bull. But now one thing is certain: Newey will not be returning to McLaren.
This was confirmed by McLaren boss Zak Brown in an interview with the BBC, who said: “We will not be signing Adrian.”
“I’m very happy with the team. Adrian is a great friend and has enormous talent. His CV is second to none. But I couldn’t be happier with everything we already have.”
He is convinced that McLaren will be successful even without Newey, says Brown: “We can do it. We want to try to win the world championship with the existing team.”
This is mainly thanks to Team Principal Andrea Stella, who “partially restructured” McLaren after the departure of his predecessor Andreas Seidl. “Andrea is doing a great job, bringing the team together. And since then, we’ve been really energized, even if we’ve had a few stumbles along the way,” says Brown.
In fact, McLaren is proving to be Red Bull’s closest rival in the 2024 Formula 1 season and has already won a Grand Prix with both drivers. “It’s going to be exciting,” says Brown, looking ahead to the rest of the season. “We’re in for a battle between four teams. There will be epic duels. Because in principle, eight drivers are in contention for victory at each track. “
Newey as world champion maker in Formula 1
When Newey was still working for McLaren, this was not always the case: the design specialist from England had designed the Silver Arrows with which Mika Häkkinen became Formula 1 world champion in 1998 and 1999, among other things. Before that, Newey had also developed world championship cars for Williams and later for Red Bull. This makes Newey the most successful designer in Formula 1 history.
It remains to be seen where he will go after his time at Red Bull. However, Newey has received several offers, including one from Aston Martin. However, an announcement is not expected until September 2024 at the earliest, when a Red Bull deadline for Newey expires.
