McLaren CEO Zak Brown labeled the situation behind the scenes at Red Bull Racing on Friday as “destabilizing,” referring to the announced departure of top designer Adrian Newey.
“If this had happened six months ago, I would have been surprised. But given everything that has happened since the beginning of the year, and because I know Adrian quite well and he is an honest person, I am not surprised,” said Brown, who has previously been critical of the whole situation at Red Bull, pointing to the power struggle at the top and the allegations against team boss Christian Horner.
“Adrian is moving on,” Brown continued. “I think the things happening at Red Bull are a bit destabilizing, and this is probably the first domino to fall. I don’t think he’s the last, given the various resumes flying around at the moment.” Jos Verstappen also expressed earlier this week his fear that Red Bull would ‘fall apart.’
Horner told Sky Sports earlier in the day that Newey’s departure has nothing to do with the struggle at Red Bull, although others dispute that. Newey himself later stated that Formula 1 ‘drains energy.’ “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, even during the winter. Now is the time to step aside.”
