Ex-Ferrari Boss Reveals How Frederic Vasseur and Co. Got Adrian Newey Out of Christian Horner’s Clutches

Last year when Lando Norris was rumored to be making a move to Red Bull, Zak Brown came out to suggest that the Brit is contractually bound with no exit clause in the contract. The contracts in F1 are cut-throat just like the nature of the sport. Adrian Newey just signed a contract with Red Bull last year, and everyone was shocked when he made his exit announcement. But now, ex Ferrari boss has revealed how Frederic Vasseur got the Red Bull mastermind out of Christian Horner’s grasp.

Adrian Newey’s exit rumors started circling the paddock as soon as the verdict of Christian Horner’s investigation came out. A day prior to the Miami GP weekend, the news of Newey’s exit was made official by Red Bull. The mastermind will no longer work with the F1 team and focus on the RB17 hypercar. Newey will leave the team in the first quarter of 2025. 

Whether he will join another team or retire from the sport is not yet confirmed. However, many reports suggest that Newey is most likely to join Ferrari. Even his wife was reported to be searching for houses in Italy. But how exactly did Ferrari convince Red Bull to leave Newey early? According to Peter Windsor, Scuderia paid a huge amount of money to Red Bull for the same.

During his YouTube live, Peter Windsor was asked why Red Bull let Newey out of contract so easily, to which he replied, “If he’s going to Ferrari and he’s been released early, that’ll be Ferrari paying Red Bull a massive amount of money that makes it all acceptable. Or it’ll be, I’m not going to Ferrari, I’m just going to go fishing. It’s got to be Money Money Money.”

In a recent interview, Adrian Newey revealed how it felt weird for him at the Miami GP since he was no longer involved in the strategy decisions. And this feeling might be the reason why he will sign with another team.

Adrian Newey reveals what a weekend without F1 responsibilities felt like

Sebastian Vettel has time and time again talked about how he misses the thrill of F1. During last year’s Japanese GP, the 4X champ was trackside as he saw the cars go around. His eyes depicted how much he missed F1. The same might happen with Adrian Newey who’s been in the sport for over 3 decades. And he recently explained how not being a part of the team decision felt weird at Miami.

Adrian Newey speaking on the Oyster Yachts YouTube video explained how not being part of the decision felt weird. He said, “The Miami Grand Prix was strange because I was there, I was there [with Red Bull] in a strategy function, hence being on the pit wall, but I wasn’t involved in any of the engineering decisions, or in any of the engineering meetings, I was just being wheeled around for press basically. It’s not what gets me up [in the morning].”

Do you think Adrian Newey will join another team or retire from the sport?