Adrian Newey accused of showing ‘middle finger’ to Red Bull in Aston Martin reveal
Adrian Newey speaks at his Aston Martin unveiling
Former F1 driver David Coulthard believes Adrian Newey’s high-profile unveiling at Aston Martin “felt like a bit of a middle finger” to current employers Red Bull.
Newey revealed earlier this month that he will join Aston Martin in F1 2025, having signalled his intention to leave Red Bull in May, with the 65-year-old unveiled in a press conference alongside team owner Lawrence Stroll.
Eddie Jordan defends Adrian Newey presentation after ‘middle finger’ accusation
Although Newey immediately ceased involvement with Red Bull’s F1 operation in May, the design legend remains involved in Red Bull’s RB17 hypercar project and had continued to attend races.
PlanetF1.com revealed last week that Newey’s travel plans for the rest of the F1 2024 season have since altered, with the Aston Martin-bound man no longer expected to attend races with Red Bull.
Speaking at last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Christian Horner issued a cool response to Aston Martin’s presentation of Newey, claiming “Adrian has always tended to do his own thing.”
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Horner went on to add that Aston Martin opted to “celebrate it, perhaps, potentially slightly prematurely, before he’s finished his contract with Red Bull Racing.”
Appearing on the Formula For Success podcast alongside Newey’s manager, the former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan, ex-Red Bull driver David Coulthard claimed it was disrespectful for Newey to appear at Aston Martin’s factory while still under contract at Red Bull.
And he claimed it was a different scenario to the likes of Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton preparing for their F1 2025 transfers to Williams and Ferrari respectively.
He said: “It’s not unusual for announcements to come out of people moving, especially the drivers, and in sport – footballers are going to move to another team even when they’re playing.
“We’ve had it with Carlos, we know he’s going to Williams and he’s obviously done his little press statement on that.
“But what is unusual is someone under contract to be at the factory, doing the rounds.
“I have to be honest: I was in a situation when, when I was leaving Williams, I went to McLaren during 1995 season and sat down with the engineers towards the end of the season to give as much information as I could recall.
“I didn’t feel comfortable doing it, quite frankly, but I was asked to do it by Ron Dennis and I was young and it was where I was going to be for ’96.
“I remember sitting with Mario Ilien, who was behind the Mercedes engine, and he was asking about the Renault engine.
“It really did feel unprofessional – and there’s my admission.
“To see Adrian there with Aston, to be doing the press conference, to be walking around the factory when he’s still under contract with Red Bull – he’s still working there on the RB17, the road car, which looks exceptional – it just felt like a bit of a middle finger to the family that he’s now leaving.
“Adrian’s a friend. And therefore, when you speak about friends publicly, they may not like it, but there’s my truth.
“I’ve told you my truth and I didn’t like being in McLaren when I was still under contract at Williams.
“I expect Carlos will sit with James Vowles and, before the end of the year, he will be downloading, because how can you not?
“I made the comment earlier in the year that Lewis mentally is at Ferrari and, of course, some people who think I’m negative on Lewis would go: ‘You never won anything, what are you talking about?’
“It’s irrelevant what I’ve won or not won, but what is relevant is to know what it’s like to be one foot in your next relationship when you’re still in a relationship.
“And that doesn’t matter whether you’re in business or whether it’s a relationship in the purest term, people that have affairs and all the rest of it.
“You can’t give 100 per cent to two things. You’re going to give 100 per cent to one thing.”
Jordan negotiated the terms of Newey’s Red Bull departure, crucially arranging for the design guru to sidestep the period of gardening leave commonplace in F1 contracts, which will allow him to begin work at Aston Martin as soon as F1 2025.
The Irishman launched a stern defence of Newey, insisting the pair adhered to their agreement with Red Bull every step of the way with Newey currently on gardening leave.
And he described the deal to take Newey to Aston Martin as one of the proudest moments of his professional career.
He explained: “There’s a couple of things that I would like to say to that.
“First of all, I concur with what you’ve said. Yes, you felt uncomfortable [about visiting McLaren in 1995], but you still continued to do it.
“I’m going to defend him.
“First of all, I would say that the arranging of the Adrian Newey release from Red Bull was, for me – and I’m not a young guy anymore – was probably one of the greatest professional, cool things that I’ve ever done.
“And I say that because most things were covered. It was covered that we reached [an agreement].
“You did not hear a peep from me until September 6, and that was the date given by Red Bull as to when we could or couldn’t say anything.
“So I have nothing but admiration for Adrian, because he never said a peep until the date that we were allowed by Red Bull to make any comment.
“You were still driving for Williams. When you went to McLaren, you were still driving there.
“Adrian is not there. He’s on gardening leave. It’s a totally different thing, you’re mixing up drivers and team people.
“Adrian is on gardening leave. He has a date in his contract, which was stipulated by me and Red Bull and that was adhered to in every single way.
“I can promise you that I don’t know anybody who breached that, so the best of care was made to respect [it].
“Adrian was fastidious about this. The respect that he has for Red Bull is unbelievable and is insurmountable in many respects, because I think it’s just there.
“It’s in him, he talked about it being his family. And it is his family, and it’s your family, David, and, indirectly, probably is mine as well through the 20 years I’ve known Christian and 30 years that I knew [the late Red Bull founder] Dietrich Mateschitz.
“It was conducted in the most unbelievably correct way. It is possibly the finest thing that I’ve ever done.
“The reason I say that is because it was arranged and coordinated in such an elegant way that I feel very proud about [it].
“I feel very proud about Red Bull, I feel very proud about myself and my actions there and I feel incredibly proud about Adrian and how he managed that situation.”
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