Red Bull forcing Newey into lengthy F1 gardening leave would have been ‘unfair’ – Motorsport Week

Max Verstappen is not “surprised” that Red Bull gave Formula 1 designer Adrian Newey an early release from his contract because it would have been “unfair” to do otherwise.

Red Bull announced last week that Newey had indicated his intention to leave the team he helped win seven Drivers’ and six Constructors’ titles.

Although Newey is under contract until 2025, Red Bull’s statement revealed the Briton, 65, would be allowed to step down during the first quarter of next season.

Newey will therefore have the right to join a rival team at this stage and become involved in work on the next generation F1 cars which are expected to arrive in 2026.

But Verstappen admitted he was not worried that Red Bull had allowed this scenario to be possible, citing that the team owed Newey for the success he had achieved.

“I’m not surprised because we respect him a lot, and we will always be very grateful for what he has done for the team all these years,” Verstappen said in Miami.

“I don’t speak for Christian (Horner, Red Bull team principal) or anything else, because I know he has to discuss it with Christian, about how the exit conditions and everything else is done , but I’m not surprised because in a way it would also be a bit unfair to put him on gardening leave for a long time, just thinking about what he did for the team.

“There is this mutual respect between the two parties.”

Newey reportedly turned down an offer from Aston Martin, while Williams boss James Vowles revealed he had held tentative talks with his compatriot.

However, Newey’s most likely destination if he chooses to continue in F1 would be Ferrari, who have failed to land the genius on three occasions.

Verstappen admitted the Maranello-based team would stand to gain a lot from Newey’s expertise with new technical rules on the horizon.

Asked if this caused problems for Red Bull in the event Newey signed for a competitor, Verstappen replied: “I don’t know.

“I think that always, when a person like Adrian, with his experience and also the knowledge that he has of our team, it should be an advantage but on the other hand, in 26 again, everything is very, very new, very different from the way cars are now.

“Before he potentially joins another team, it’s in 25, so normally the cars are already designed for the following year.

“So it’s again something that is… it’s something that you don’t know how much influence it can have.

“But for sure, with the new regulations, if he went elsewhere, with his knowledge, he can bring a lot to a team.”