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Christian Horner Blamed for Adrian Newey’s Departure as Red Bull Struggles Continue

Red Bull Racing is grappling with a significant downturn in performance following the unexpected departure of legendary designer Adrian Newey. The mastermind behind many of Red Bull’s most dominant Formula 1 cars exited the team midway through the 2024 season. Since then, Red Bull’s form has noticeably declined, with the team finishing third in the 2024 Constructors’ Championship and falling further behind their main rivals in the 2025 season.

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has publicly criticized team principal Christian Horner, suggesting that the current struggles are a direct result of Newey’s departure—a situation Horner should have prevented. Speaking to Sky Germany, Schumacher expressed his concern over the direction Red Bull has taken since Newey left. He emphasized that the team lost not just a designer but a foundational figure who played a key role in building Red Bull into a championship-winning force.

“In my opinion, Pierre Wache is simply not Adrian Newey,” Schumacher stated. “That makes things very difficult. Adrian, along with Dr. Helmut Marko, built this team from the ground up. Horner should have recognized that and made sure Newey stayed. Losing him was a mistake he couldn’t afford.”

Schumacher further added that Horner might have grown too confident in the team’s strength and underestimated Newey’s value. “If I think everything will continue to go smoothly without someone like Newey, that’s where the problems begin. I think Horner overestimated his position, and now he’s in a real dilemma.”

Following Newey’s departure, Pierre Wache was promoted to technical director, but many believe he lacks the innovative edge that Newey brought to the table. While it may be tempting to view Red Bull’s performance slump as coincidental, the timing of Newey’s exit appears too closely aligned with their struggles to be ignored.

Christian Horner has admitted that Red Bull is facing performance discrepancies, noting inconsistencies between wind tunnel data and actual race-day results. Despite their efforts, the team has failed to narrow the performance gap, and tensions are beginning to mount—especially with star driver Max Verstappen, who is growing increasingly frustrated with the underperforming RB21.

Speculation has intensified that Verstappen could jump ship, particularly since Adrian Newey has now joined Aston Martin. The design icon was appointed as Aston Martin’s managing technical partner in March 2025 and is already deeply involved in developing their 2026 car. The team hopes his expertise will help propel them out of the midfield and into championship contention.

For Red Bull, Newey’s absence is being felt on multiple levels—not only in the car’s development but also in the broader strategic direction of the team. With rivals pulling ahead and internal frustrations growing, Horner now faces one of the most challenging chapters of his leadership. Whether the team can recover or risks losing its star driver to Newey’s new camp remains a critical question for the rest of the season.