Adrian Newey has fired back in response to criticism from former Red Bull Formula 1 colleague and friend Christian Horner. The war of words erupted following the release of Horner's new autobiography, Drive, on October 22, in which the Red Bull team principal made a series of cutting allegations regarding Newey's management style and his high-profile switch to Aston Martin.
In his book, Horner was critical of Newey's leadership approach during their 20-year stint at the Milton Keynes squad. He accused the 67-year-old technical mastermind of wanting to abandon ship at the first sign of adversity back in 2014 and claimed that the move to Aston Martin left him completely blindsided.
Asked about these remarks ahead of the Grand Prix weekend, Newey stated that he had not yet read any of the autobiography. However, he offered a detailed defense regarding the difficult challenges faced by the technical department during the 2014 regulatory overhaul.
"You are quite right in saying that no, I haven't read any of it yet," Newey stated during the official press conference. "I think 2014, then as a chassis designer, if the PU manufacturer has a bad year, that happens and you accept it. If the PU manufacturer has a bad year and doesn't appear to have any intention of trying to address the problem, that's altogether a different matter, and that's quite bleak at that point."
The legendary designer elaborated on the deep frustration caused by the power unit struggles that persisted until the team partnered with Honda in 2019, noting that Horner may not have fully grasped the severity of the situation from a chassis perspective.
"And that's the situation that, unfortunately, we faced in 2014. As it turned out, that situation didn't really change with that supplier until we changed to Honda in 2019. So, you can imagine my pain and frustration at that. I don't think Christian fully understood that, perhaps. But I was in conversation with him. The rest of it, I really can't comment. But Christian and I remain friends. As many of you know, I am godfather to his daughter, Olivia, so yeah," Newey added.
Addressing Horner's recent comparisons between Aston Martin's current rebuilding phase and Red Bull's early struggles in the mid-to-late 2000s, Newey acknowledged the structural parallels involving past ownership changes and management shifts, emphasizing the ongoing effort required to break down silos and improve team culture.
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