Christian Horner has reiterated his belief that Red Bull have enough “strength and depth” in the squad to remain successful without Adrian Newey, the team boss having compared the situation to Manchester United continuing to win when Cristiano Ronaldo left the club.
It was confirmed back in May that Newey would depart the Milton Keynes outfit in the first quarter of 2025, bringing a nearly 20-year partnership to an end. And while much speculation ensued over what his next move would be, the announcement came in September that Newey will become Aston Martin’s Managing Technical Partner as of March 1.
READ MORE: Newey reveals why he’ll still be helping Red Bull with ‘passion project’ after his Aston Martin start date
During an interview with Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz, Horner was quizzed on whether Newey’s decision to move to Aston – a team not currently in direct competition with Red Bull for the championship – was a best case scenario, given that the designer was also linked with some of the squad’s main rivals such as Ferrari.
“First and foremost, Adrian was with us for almost 20 years and we had some great times in that period,” said Horner. “He’s a friend, he’s godfather to my daughter. We achieved some great things in that period of time.
“During the last probably eight to nine years, he came very close to leaving in 2014, and from that moment onwards really we needed to ensure that, if he were to choose to depart, that we were in a position to pick up the mantle and the baton and run with it.
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