Christian Horner says that Red Bull has had talks regarding the structure of its company in the event that Adrian Newey departs his role.
Newey is Red Bull’s chief technical officer and oversees the construction and development of the Milton Keynes-based squad’s Formula 1 challengers.
The Briton is regarded as one of the greatest F1 engineers of all time and has been credited with building numerous title-winning cars for various teams.
Newey, who celebrates his 64th birthday today, has been focusing on other projects in recent years, including the RB17 Hypercar that was announced earlier in 2022.
Horner asserts that Red Bull is aware of Newey’s position and is already talking about life after he opts to depart the squad.
“It’s something that obviously we’ve looked at and discussed this period of time, and Adrian’s role as chief technical officer has evolved with Advanced Technologies now, and the RB17 that we announced earlier in the year,” Horner told Speedcafe.
“He splits his time across various projects, and that’s forced the other guys to step up.
“There’s Pierre Wache as technical director, and the technical team, and they’ve done a fantastic job.
“Obviously, Adrian feeds into that and works closely with that group. He’s got this encyclopedia of knowledge, but it’s great to see the strength and depth that we have technically and the way that they’ve delivered.”
Newey’s most recent title success came in 2022, with Red Bull dominating the season en route to both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship.
For some time, Newey has been famous for using a drawing board, rather than digital methods, to design his cars.
“He lives in the matrix,” Horner said. “He’s been the conductor of the technical orchestra for all these years now.
“He’s still very hands-on, he’s still at his drawing board. I think it’s probably the only drawing board in Formula 1, I had to argue with [ex-McLaren CEO] Ron Dennis to wrestle it out of McLaren.
“Obviously highs and lows during all these years but it’s always been fun. It’s always been about the racing.”
