Newey ever closer to retirement: how will Red Bull cope with a departure?

Adrian Newey is the master designer in Formula 1. Last week, the Brit celebrated his 65th birthday, so the moment of his farewell to the sport is drawing ever closer. His retirement would be a hefty loss for Red Bull Racing, although Christian Horner expects his team to be strong enough to cope with a Newey departure.

Team boss Horner will never have had any regrets about cutting Newey loose from McLaren in 2005. In the years that followed, thanks to the designer's ingenuity, Red Bull managed to report further and further to the front of the grid, with the biggest successes featuring Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull cars. Out of sight of the cameras, Newey also trained people internally who could eventually replace him.

Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing has an extensive technical team, including not only Newey but also technical director Pierre Wache. Talking to Motorsport.com, Horner stated that Newey is an important part of the team, but that Red Bull is now so broad that they are not dependent on the Briton. "He has the ability to come in, come out and work on other projects and I think that's part of the evolution of any team," Horner believes.

The team boss compares the period with Newey to the time when Eric Cantona played football for Manchester United. Supporters feared that the English football team would suffer a huge setback when the French icon left. In reality, the glory days continued even without Cantona. "Red Bull is a team that, we're stronger for having Adrian with us, but of course, the rest of the team is evolving," Horner said.