Adrian Newey ‘makes decision’ on ditching Red Bull for Ferrari as Horner hearing looms.

Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey has played a major role in Max Verstappen’s F1 success.

Design guru Adrian Newey has reportedly informed Red Bull that he will stay with the team despite the uncertainty surrounding Christian Horner’s future. Speculation on a potential move to Ferrari has been bubbling up due to Newey’s past comments and curious social media activity.

A hearing is scheduled to take place at the Red Bull factory on Friday to address the allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ against Horner. Horner, who has been the team principal since 2005, has successfully led the team to secure four Drivers’ Championships for Sebastian Vettel and an additional three for Max Verstappen.

Newey, Red Bull’s highly influential chief technical officer, joined the year after Horner. And some have theorised that the 65-year-old could look to jump ship and pursue a dream move to Ferrari if Horner is forced out.

When asked whether he regrets never getting the chance to work with the Prancing Horse, he told Beyond The Grid: “Emotionally, I guess, to a point. Yes. It’s just circumstance sometimes. That’s the way it is.”

Furthermore, Newey’s wife liked a post on X which stated the recent sequence of events gives him the ‘chance to tick off those regrets’. However, according to F1-insider, Newey has already informed Red Bull that he will remain loyal to them regardless of whether Horner stays or goes.

The report adds that Horner and Newey’s Red Bull contracts were once linked to one another – meaning one of them could follow the other out of the exit door without repercussions – although that is no longer believed to be the case. In fact, the ‘bonds of friendship’ between the design mastermind and the Red Bull boss have reportedly ‘broken’.

Red Bull are keen to resolve internal issues by the time their 2024 F1 car – the RB20 – is launched on February 15. Pre-season testing in Bahrain is due to get underway later this month, with Verstappen gunning down a fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship.

Newey has admitted that the team opted against making drastic changes to last year’s car, which dominated the rest of the field. “It’s very much a third evolution of the 2022 car,” he told the Talking Bull podcast.

The car from the previous year underwent various improvements for its main aspects, which primarily included typical winter advancements in aerodynamics.

Additionally, there was a focus on enhancing the vehicle’s suspension and reducing its weight, as the weight limit was not reached in the preceding year. The RB18, which is the car for this year, has gone through its third transformation.

However, it is uncertain if this latest transformation is too cautious compared to the innovative changes made by others. It is impossible to predict.”