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If reports are true, Adrian Newey has given his resignation at Red Bull and will leave the team. This ended a relationship that spanned almost two decades and saw a lot of ups and downs.
Adrian Newey is arguably one of the founding members of Red Bull, having joined the team in 2006. The team first won a race in 2009. It first won a title in 2010 and did not stop winning until 2014.
Red Bull shed the 'drinks company' tag real quick as Adrian Newey worked his magic. Fast forward almost a decade, and we have the Austrian team dominating the sport once again, with Newey working his magic.
But all of a sudden, Adrian Newey is done with Red Bull. He wants to leave the team with no clear inkling or hint of what his next move would be.
In all of this, reports of relationships breaking down have been doing the rounds. Many have already termed this a massive loss for Red Bull.
Is it a loss for Red Bull? Yes, it is. But none of it should take away from the fact that whatever Adrian Newey gave in terms of his undeniable magic, he got a lot back as well.
Adrian Newey: The Genius
It's undeniable that Adrian Newey is a magician when it comes to aerodynamics. The man has been part of the sport since the 1990s and has built cars that have been the class of the field multiple times.
He first came into the spotlight with Williams in the early 1990s, where he achieved a lot of success. Then he went to McLaren, where he replicated that success by winning titles in 1998 and 1999. All of these cars were works of art and mind-blowingly fast.
Since his move to Red Bull, the genius has only had the opportunity to flourish even more. The 4-year dominance from 2010-13 was impressive.
The team has taken it a step further with its performance in the current Ground Effect era, where Adrian Newey's Red Bulls have dominated from 2022 until now.
Where was Adrian Newey when Red Bull approached him?
There is, however, a reality check that is needed here when it comes to Adrian Newey and where he was in his career when Red Bull came calling. Not many remember that Newey was contemplating retirement at the end of his McLaren stint.
Since 1999, McLaren and Adrian Newey had not tasted success, and the relationship with Ron Dennis was getting worse by the day.
The problem for Newey was the lack of options. Even at Williams, the relationship had soured with the owners, Frank Williams and Patrick Head, and this was becoming a pattern for him.
If Red Bull had not come along, he would still be remembered as this amazing car designer, but his success in the 2010s and later would not have materialized.
Christian Horner knew how to manage Adrian Newey
It's very easy to hate Christian Horner these days, and he does give his detractors a lot of fodder. Having said that, one cannot deny the role that Horner has played in keeping Adrian Newey grounded and a part of Red Bull.
It all started with bringing him on board in the 2000s, but that's not all. If it wasn't for Horner finding a hypercar project with Aston Martin for Newey to work on, the latter would have left during the turbo hybrid era.
It was during this time that Newey's association decreased from being in a full-time position to a more consulting role.
What Christian Horner has done for an almost 20-year period is keep a resource like Newey happy and facilitate him in every way possible. Something that Ron Dennis and Frank Williams, some of the greatest F1 team principals, could not achieve.
One has to wonder what Newey's legacy would have been had he left during the turbo hybrid era. He would not have been able to build the most dominant car in F1 history.
Both Newey and Red Bull worked together, not independently
Finally, the most important thing is that Newey, in isolation, might not have achieved what he ended up achieving. At Red Bull, he had the lever that supplemented him in a manner that no other team could boast of.
The Red Bull in 2021 would not have even competed for the title if a generational talent like Max Verstappen was not in the car. Newey would not have had the best tools had Horner not ensured that the former got everything that he wanted.
To add to this, the sublime Honda power unit and the excellent operational team have all played a role in the success that Red Bull has achieved.
Conclusion
When it comes to Adrian Newey and his tenure at Red Bull, this two-decade stay has elevated him from being considered one of the brightest minds to build an F1 car to someone who is resoundingly termed the greatest.
The success of Red Bull has Newey's imprint all over it, but in essence, the team is arguably the most complete team in F1 history, with every box ticked.
Adrian Newey has contributed a lot to the legacy of Red Bull, and the team has made sure it supports the designer in every way possible. This was a two-way relationship, and it's safe to say that it ended with both of them much more successful than where they started.
