Newey hints at next career move after Red Bull exit

Out-going Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey has hinted he will not opt to retire from motorsport after his departure from the Milton Keynes-based squad early next year.

With over 200 grand prix wins and 25 world championships to his name, Newey is widely regarded as one of the greatest-ever F1 car designers.

His near-two-decade association with Red Bull will come to an end in 2025, with his next career move being a hot topic of conversation.

Ferrari is believed to be pursuing the Briton's signature, while Mercedes is also reportedly pushing to bring Newey to the German manufacturer.

With retirement also an option for Newey, the 65-year-old has suggested he is keen to pursue another F1 project.

“If you asked me 15 years ago, at the age of 65 would I seriously be considering changing teams, going somewhere else and doing another four or five years, I would have said you’re absolutely mad,” Newey said in an interview with Eddie Jordan for Oyster Yachts.

“I’ve wanted to work in motor racing as a designer since I was the age of eight or ten. 

“I’ve been lucky enough to fulfil that ambition, to have got that first job and be in motor racing ever since. Every day has just been a bonus. I just love what I do. 

“I’ll have a bit of a holiday. As Forrest Gump said at the end of his long run, I feel a bit tired at the moment. But at some point I’ll probably go again.”

Newey will continue to travel to some F1 races with Red Bull this year, with his primary focus shifting to the RB17 hypercar project ahead of his exit from the company.

However, Newey has admitted he knows he would miss the competitive aspect if he departed F1 altogether.

“The great thing about motor racing, it can be very painful but  every two weeks or so, you know how you're doing,” he said.

“That feedback, I think, is what vitalises the whole thing. And I guess that's what I've got used to over the years and  I know I’d missed it if I wasn't doing it.

“[Getting] back to where we started, do I go again or do I enjoy my [yacht] and sail off into the sunset?”

Confirmation of his departure from Red Bull came right before the Miami Grand Prix earlier this month, marking a peculiar weekend for Newey.

“The Miami Grand Prix itself was strange because I was there, I was there in a strategy function on the pit wall, but I wasn’t involved in any of hte engineering decisions or any of the engineering meetings,” he added. 

“I was just being wheeled around for press really. I never thought it would be big news to be honest, I never really thought about it. 

“For it to be in all of the papers and on the telly, it was almost a bit of a shock.”