Max Verstappen’s father Jos has spoken out for the first time about the prospect of Red Bull chief technology officer Adrian Newey potentially leaving the team. The 65-year-old design chief is reportedly set to split from Christian Horner’s outfit at the end of the season, a year before his contract is due to expire.
Newey is said to be leaving due to the ongoing power struggle behind the scenes at Red Bull, something that Jos Verstappen has highlighted previously. Jos had demanded that team principal Horner lose his job following the scandal that saw him accused of inappropriate behaviour before being cleared in an internal investigation.
An appeal is thought to be ongoing, but the fallout has clouded the beginning of Red Bull’s season in which they have continued their dominance, with Max Verstappen on course for a fourth consecutive world title.
But Newey’s exit has raised fears for the future, having designed the cars that Verstappen has won at a canter with. And his father Jos is very aware of the talent that Red Bull are set to lose.
“Normally I won’t say anything about it. What else can I say about it? I don’t know anything else about it,” Jos told Racexpress. “I know that there is basically a deal between him and Red Bull (until 2025). We’ll see about the rest, I can’t say anything about that. We all know what he has achieved and how good he is.”
Jos also opened up on his son’s future, which has been less certain than perhaps expected a few months ago, with his father insisting that there is plenty of interest and all options will be assessed moving forward.
Max Verstappen has remained steadfast in his view that he only cares about his car’s performance and that will decide his future, despite being contracted to Red Bull until 2028.
But with new regulation changes in 2026 expected to favour Mercedes and Ferrari over Red Bull, his father is aware that considerations need to be made to other teams, perhaps opening the door to a potential exit with Newey.
“I think everyone really wants Max,” Jos added. “I think Max is in a good place at the moment. He has a fast car, but we also have to look further. We are also looking at 2026, so we are letting everything happen to us. We will remain very calm and see what will happen.”
