Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey with his wife Amanda (Image by @DonnyVerstappen from X)Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey with his wife Amanda (Image by @DonnyVerstappen from X)

Red Bull chief technology officer Adrian Newey’s wife Amanda has dropped a cheeky remark, dashing the rumors of Red Bull preparing to move away from the 65-year-old’s leadership.

Newey, who left McLaren to join Red Bull Racing in 2006, has been a key member of the team for over a decade and a half. The Brit has played a significant role in the team’s success in the early 2010s, and most recently, the previous three seasons.

Thus, it was a topic of discussion among the fans when Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, recently suggested that the team is “evolving” to move away from the leadership of Newey when the time comes. He emphasized the evolution of the broader technical team, stating (via Motorsport):

“Red Bull is a team that, we’re stronger for having Adrian with us, but of course the rest of the team is evolving.”

The unexpected response came from Amanda Newey, who took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express her thoughts on the matter:

“What a load of hogwash.”

What did Christian Horner say about Adrian Newey’s current role inside the Red Bull camp?

While speaking to The Telegraph, Horner had shed light on the scenario where Newey’s role inside the Austrian outfit’s camp is more on the mentorship aspect. Speaking about his role in the recent years, Horner said:

“I suppose it’s evolved over the last four or five years as Adrian has become involved in other projects. He can’t be everywhere.”

Horner highlighted the cost cap which has compelled Adrian Newey to adapt to his role to focus more on the conceptual stages, given the evolving regulatory landscape.

“In a cost cap world, especially with where the regulations have gone, Adrian is able to do less anyway on the drawing board. Obviously, he’s still crucial at the concept stage,” he said.

Addressing Pierre Wache, the team’s technical director, Horner commended his role in stepping up:

“Pierre did a great job in doing that. On a day-to-day basis, that is Pierre’s responsibility now, his accountability. The relationship between the two of them is strong. Honestly, I think it’s the strongest engineering team we’ve ever had.”

Adrian Newey worked with teams like Williams and McLaren early on in his career before making a move to the Austrian outfit in 2006. The 65-year-old has been largely credited for the success of the RB19, a masterful creation of the legendary engineer which dominated the grid in 2023.

Whilst recent words from Horner might have stirred the pot about Newey’s future, the former McLaren engineer has left an indelible mark on the history of the sport.