Red Bull have been warned that Adrian Newey could retire if Christian Horner is relieved of his duties after being grilled by a top lawyer. The 50-year-old is being investigated over allegations of inappropriate behaviour, which he vehemently denies, following a complaint by a female Red Bull employee to the team’s parent company in Austria.
Newey, meanwhile, is arguably the greatest technical mastermind in F1 history and has been designing Red Bull’s cars for nearly two decades. His working relationship with Horner has been incredibly successful over the years but former Williams team manager Peter Windsor believes it could come to an end if the Red Bull team principal is sacked.
Speaking in a YouTube video, Windsor said: “I think it’s an interesting point to discuss and think about what would happen at Red Bull if Christian, and that’s a huge if, lost his job and he was fired. I think a lot of European press are saying, well, then the management goes back to Red Bull.
“I wonder then about the future of the team. I certainly wonder about Adrian Newey and what he would do. He’s probably of an age where he would really retire. I think he would see it as finally the end of that era when he had Christian as the buffer and the really easy to get on with guy.
“They are on the same wavelength. If Christian departs, it’ll obviously be bad for Christian, but I think the bigger effect will be what effect it has on Adrian’s future.”
Newey has recently been linked with a potential move to Ferrari, with the 65-year-old having previously spoken of his desire to work for the Italian outfit. However, it has been reported that Newey has already informed Red Bull of his loyalty to them regardless of whether or not Horner leaves the team.
Windsor went on to suggest that Newey would struggle to replicate his Red Bull success if he ends up joining Ferrari, saying: “I’m not sure they would necessarily get the best from Adrian. He didn’t thrive at Williams, where politics played a big role. A similar thing at McLaren with Ron Dennis.
“Christian came along much easier to work with and much softer in so many ways. I think the time has probably been missed for that [move to Ferrari] to happen.”
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