Horner cannot afford to lose mastermind behind success

The whispers about Adrian Newey being unsettled are nothing new. As soon as the Christian Horner controversy erupted in early February, there was speculation regarding Formula One’s preeminent designer and, specifically, on which side of the fence he stood.

Newey said nothing then. And the fact that the 65-year-old has remained silent since, refusing to back Horner or reconfirm his commitment to Red Bull, has naturally served only to fan the flames.

In one sense, that silence was entirely predictable. Newey is not a man who enjoys confrontation or team politics. And his decision to travel with Horner to races, and talk with him publicly at those races, suggested at least that the two had not had a major falling-out.

But if reports are true that he has now told the team of his desire to leave, it represents a huge development for F1 – as well a punch in the solar plexus for Horner personally.

The truth is, as far as engineering nous is concerned, Newey is regarded as a genius. He has shaped the entire modern era of grand-prix racing. Newey-designed cars have now won more than 200 grands prix and 13 constructors’ titles dating back to his first, the uber-dominant 1992 Williams-renault FW14B which carried Nigel Mansell to glory.

It is true that he is no longer as involved in F1 day-to-day as he once was. Telegraph Sport had a fascinating chat only last autumn with Newey and Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache about their respective roles, with Newey admitting that he probably spent “roughly 50 per cent” of his time on F1.

Aside from other interests, it is the RB17 “super car” which has dominated his time of late. It is a passion project, and one of the major reasons it has been hard to imagine him leaving right now. The first prototype is out this year.

But one can never rule anything out in F1. Newey may earn £15million a year, he may get to set his own hours and live part-time in South Africa. But if it is true he is unsettled, there are some very wealthy teams out there who would be only too willing to throw money at him to tempt him to defect. The 2026 regulations are coming up and Newey is the best in the business with a blank canvas.

Whether he could actually take his pencils to Ferrari, Aston Martin or Mercedes is another matter. Red Bull’s statement made it clear they would look to hold him to his contract. If he did try to force a move, terms in his contract could mean the gardening leave to end all gardening leaves. By the time he did go anywhere, he could be approaching 70.

Even if he tries, it will be huge. Horner would be losing a key ally as well as a genius brain.