Adrian Newey’s “Zero” Influence on Red Bull Will Make Christian Horner & Co Allow Aston Martin Move

Since joining Formula 1 in 2005, Red Bull has won 13 championships in total (7 drivers’ and 6 constructors’), and Adrian Newey has played a significant role in that success. Regarded as the most successful car designer in the sport’s history, Newey has helped Red Bull achieve new levels of dominance in the last couple of seasons with the RB18 and the RB19. So if Red Bull were to lose Adrian Newey, it would be a big loss for the team, right? Not according to F1 journalist Erik van Haren.

According to Erik, Newey didn’t make as big a contribution to developing Red Bull’s current car as we might think. In the last week, Newey’s future with Red Bull has come under question as several reports suggested that he might be on his way out.

There have been some speculations as to why he wants to leave Red Bull when they are so dominant, and there seem to be a couple of reasons for that. Some say that he is fed up with the reported internal power struggle within the team, while others say that it is due to personal reasons related to the accusations of improper behavior against Christian Horner.

These rumors have surfaced after other teams have reportedly offered lucrative deals to the British car designer. It’s no secret that Ferrari has been after Newey for almost two decades now. And Aston Martin has now joined the list of teams that are after him as well. During the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend, there were rumors that Aston Martin co-owner Lawrence Stroll had offered him big bucks to join the Silverstone-based team.

A recent report from f1maximaal.nl quoted Erik van Haren as saying that Adrian Newey might accept the offer because Red Bull will not even see Newey leaving as a loss to the team. Erik said, “Aston Martin is still an option. I think if he leaves, a lot of people won’t even mind. I hear from people within the team that his influence on the car is zero.” [Translated by Google]

While Erik thinks that Newey could go to Aston Martin, others believe that he would prefer a different team.

A former Ferrari boss says Adrian Newey has already rejected Lawrence Stroll’s offer

According to Peter Windsor, an experienced voice in the F1 community, Adrian Newey has already turned down the offer from Aston Martin. He believes that Newey is no longer motivated by money, and he just wants to go to a team where he will be allowed to work the way he wants and achieve his personal goals.

Windsor explained his reasoning in a recent live chat on his YouTube channel. He said, “I don’t think money is a motivation for Adrian. I think it’s racing, and it’s whether he enjoys it and whether it’s going to fit in with what he wants to do with other things in life. And you throw a billion pounds at him now, and it’s not going to make a lot of difference. My understanding is that he’s already rejected that. So I’d be surprised if he goes to Aston [Martin].”

Instead, Windsor believes that joining Ferrari might be the most attractive idea for Adrian Newey at the moment because of the new opportunity and his trust in team boss Frederic Vasseur. Also, Newey himself once said that not having worked with Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari was one of his regrets. Now he has the chance to do both at the same time.

Do you think Adrian Newey didn’t make any significant contributions to the development of the RB20? Share your insights in the comments below.