“Everything else is a bonus” - Adrian Newey addresses F1 future as rumours continue to swirl

F1 design guru Adrian Newey has been coy over his future, admitting that “everything else is a bonus” when assessing his next move.

Newey is one of the most decorated designers in the sports history with a plethora of success with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull.

The 65-year-old is widely regarded as F1’s greatest designer, backed up by his impressive CV.

Newey has been instrumental in Red Bull’s success over the years, particularly when propelling them from the midfield to consistent title-winner.

He will depart Red Bull in the first quarter of 2025, with his future still unclear.

Newey has been heavily linked with McLaren and Aston Martin, while interest from Ferrari has allegedly cooled.

As quoted by F1, Newey conceded that the interest and praise he’s received since the news of him leaving Red Bull was announced is “very flattering”.

“Yeah, it is. I have to admit, I don’t read the press very much, but of course I hear [things]. Amanda, my wife, kind of follows it and gives me a rough update, so yes, it’s very flattering, of course.”

“Ultimately, it’s not why I do the job. From the age of 10 or 11 I always wanted to be a designer in motor racing, and I’ve managed to achieve that, so everything else is a bonus really.

“My passion has always been trying to add performance to cars, to race cars, so the rest is, of course, part of it, but it’s not what wakes me up and motivates me.”

Newey joined Red Bull after leading McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen to a title near-miss in 2005.

Reflecting on the decision to leave Woking, Newey acknowledged people thought the move was “suicidal”.

“It’s been just such an amazing ride, it really has,” he added. “I was at McLaren before Red Bull and we had a very good little car in 2005, won 10 races, but I just felt I needed a new challenge.

“Joining Red Bull, frankly, was a big career risk, I think a lot of people thought it was suicidal.

“Really, it was just the ambition of trying to build the team up, and with the hope that one day we could win a race. [We could] never, ever conceive or think that the level of success that we eventually had would be what’s happened since.”