“[Christian Horner] Owes Me”: Adrian Newey’s Manager Reveals How he Inadvertently Saved Red Bull Boss

Since the start of the year, no one has really stopped talking about Red Bull Racing. Aside from the Max Verstappen dominance and who would be the ones to take the fight to him, other stories are cropping up. Earlier this year, the Austrian outfit ended up on the news for all the wrong reasons. As it turned out, it emerged that team principal Christian Horner was under investigation, internally.

Admittedly, that case is still mired in mystery, because the allegations kept changing. One thing was for sure, Horner’s reputation was being dragged through the mud. Of course, Red Bull remained tight-lipped on the matter and eventually cleared him of the allegations. Despite that, there was still a degree of uneasiness in the paddock. All of that changed when Red Bull dropped their latest bombshell, that technical guru Adrian Newey was leaving. In light of this, Newey’s manager and former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan admitted that it could have been a blessing in disguise.

How did Newey take the heat off of Christian Horner and Red Bull?

Jordan told Formula For Success, “I think, and I really do mean this, Miami in particular. The last couple of weeks have demonstrated how fickle the media can be. So many from, a little bit on the attack towards Christian for example. Then suddenly the Adrian Newey thing comes along, and then Christian is sort of no longer on the front page. It’s all Adrian, so I believe he owes me a favor.”

“I believe I distracted so much of the media. Not willingly, it just so happened that way. The media got distracted towards Adrian Newey and they gave Christian a bit of breathing space. That’s how I see it, but I would be naturally biased to see things to my favour.”

In a way, Horner will be grateful that today’s generation is easily distracted by the next big thing. To be frank, Newey’s departure from Red Bull after the current season is massive news. Considering his reputation in the Formula One community, he is one of the masterminds behind two dominant Red Bull eras. So one really has to wonder if he will trigger a domino effect that will adversely impact the Austrian squad.

What lies in the future for Newey in the F1 arena?

Currently, the ace F1 designer has insisted that he has no plans to join another team. The 65-year-old has been in the sport for a very long time, so no one can really blame him for wanting a break. Of course, that does not stop the rumor mill from speculating which team Adrian Newey could eventually join. All this in spite of Eddie Jordan and Newey insisting that they have no immediate plans to join a rival team.

For the moment, the Briton will be looking ahead to his final outing with Red Bull Racing before a well-earned rest. As for the team itself, one really has to wonder if they will still be the dominant juggernaut they are, without him. According to Newey, he has been scaling back his own personal role within the organization. Owing to that, he is confident that the team will be just fine without him.