Formula 1 Shake Ups
And here I thought the biggest shake up of this season was going to be the shocking announcement of Sir Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari following the conclusion of the 2024. While I still think it was a blockbuster move for him and the Italian born organization, there is one other situation that has shaken out over this past week that could potentially top it. That is the not so shocking announcement that Red Bull’s Chief Technology Officer of nearly 20 years will be leaving the team in the first quarter of 2025.
Adrian Newey, who is hailed as one of the greatest Formula 1 engineers in modern day history, will be leaving the racing powerhouse and he has no shortage of offers coming his way. Rumor has it that his abrupt decision to leave Red Bull has to do with his disliking of the way the team has/is handling the claims of sexual harassment that have embattled team principle Christian Horner since the end of 2024. In the team’s statement, it was stated that Newey would be stepping away from his Formula 1 duties (although he is in Miami for the Grand Prix this weekend- as his the Chair of Ferrari, Piero Ferrari himself- we see you sir) and focusing on Red Bull’s first hypercar. This begs the question, if he is no longer associated with the Formula 1 portion of RB, can his mandatory 12 month gardening leave start now?
Gardening leave is a fun little practice done by many organizations that pretty much ensure that as soon as an employee resigns or is terminated, they don’t/can’t go to a competitor immediately and give them all the information as to their successes and failures. In return, they pay their salary for a bit. Formula 1 usually has a gardening leave time of 12 months depending on contracts.
Personally, I think Newey’s exit from the team that he has spent two decades with shines a light on just what the internal state of Red Bull is looking like. And it isn’t good. Add on the continued and rampant rumors that reigning World Champion and superstar driver Max Verstappen is meeting with teams like Mercedes (would be the weirdest move given the state of Mercedes cars at the moment but we can get into that later) and we could very well be witnessing the beginning of a melt down at the Milton Keynes team and i’m here for it. If i’m being completely honest with you all, this move doesn’t surprise me all that much. Things have been off with the team since the original allegations came to light. Max’s interactions with Horner are short and that’s if he chooses to respond at all. Not to mention Jos Verstappen making his opinion on the situation incredibly clear to anyone who will listen. Newey’s decision to leave a clearly toxic environment is just a peak at what I can only speculate an incredibly intense and uncomfortable factory.
So where does the foremost expert on Formula 1 engineering go after everything is said and done? For one, the rumor mill has Ferrari as the front runner for his next contract. It is understood that instead of flying to Miami with the team, team principle Fred Vassuer personally flew to London to speak with Newey. And like I said earlier, Piero Ferrari has made his way to Miami this weekend as well. Was it to also work on enticing the English engineer to invest in some Italian real estate? Aston Martin, Williams and Mercedes have also been in contact with him as well. But if Fred Vassuer is able to sign Sir Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Newey in the same year, he should have a statue dedicated to him built at the factory.
According to the drivers, who some i’d love to play poker with because, no poker faces at all, these next few months are going to be interesting in the driver market. Only 2 teams are fully booked for the 2025 season as of today and Audi (currently Stake Sauber) recently announced that they signed Nico Hulkenberg from HAAS for next season. Even Red Bull’s 2 seats aren’t for certain. Plus you have to take into account the Formula 2 drivers looking to get their foot in the door. Oliver Bearman already made his debut and his mark this season. Kimi Antonelli is expected to make his debut at some point this season, rumored to be replacing Logan Sargaent in a Williams seat. What other shake ups will settle before the summer break? We will have to wait and see.
