Adrian Newey’s farewell
Last May 1st Red Bull has made official a piece of news that has been in the air for some time now, namely the separation from Adrian Newey starting from the first months of 2025.
As happens in every official communication, every word is carefully weighed and selected by those who put it down in black and white and therefore it is not surprising that Newey wanted to dedicate a thought to the top figures of the team: “On a personal level I would like to thank the shareholders, the late Dietrich Mateschitz, Mark Mateschitz and Chalerm Yoovidhya for their unwavering support during my time at Red Bull, and Christian (Horner, ed.), who was not only my business partner, but also a friend to our respective families. Also thanks to Oliver Mintzlaff for his management and to Eddie Jordan, my dear friend and manager.”
In short, a long list of thanks that touched almost all the important personalities within the Red Bull F1 world. Almost, because it cannot fail to stand out an absence, that of Helmut Markoamong the founding figures of the team since its debut in 2005. An oversight that is not accidental.
The reasons for Marko’s absence
Investigating the absence of Marko’s name from the official Red Bull press release was the De Telegraaf, Dutch site always well informed on the events of the Anglo-Austrian team.
Journalist Erik Van Haren explained that Rumor has it that Marko’s name has been removed from the ‘Horner front’, to demonstrate that the Austrian no longer plays a significant role in the team. But there is also another school of thought that claims that relations between Newey and Marko are not idyllic.
And in fact the story of the English designer’s farewell also had two different versions, with Horner speaking of “intention to leave note for a year” while Marko who instead stated how the decision was “a surprise”
In any case the forgetfulness was not at all accidental and proves it once more how the waters at Red Bull are more troubled than ever. It is no secret that Christian Horner and Chalerm Yoovidhya would like to get rid of Marko, but the latter represents the Austrian part of the team and has the full support of Verstappen. The 81-year-old from Graz, despite being present at every race, is realizing having lost centrality within the team. “The only reason he is still in the team is Verstappen. And if Max decided to leave, Marko wouldn’t stand in his way.”writes the De Telegraafunderlining once again the clause present in the driver’s contract, which closely ties his future to that of his Austrian mentor.
In all this, the employee’s internal appeal against Horner is moving forward. From many quarters it is implied that a new acquittal outcome is expected for the team principal, but all sources indicate that the next step will be the criminal complaint from the woman towards the number one of the Red Bull team. With all the annexes and connections of the case.
