F1 News

Marc Priestley says Horner is a part of why Newey left Red Bull

Ex McLaren mechanic: 'I'm fairly sure Newey is leaving because of Horner'

12 May at 10:00
Last update 12 May at 10:00
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  • Toby Nixon

Adrian Newey's Red Bull departure continues sending shockwaves throughout the F1 world. Still weeks after the official announcement, many are wondering where Newey will be in the future. Will the legendary designer go to Ferrari, who he has been linked with? Will he go to Aston Martin or Williams, or might he simply retire from Formula 1? Ex-McLaren mechanic and broadcaster Marc Priestley has experience in a team hindered by scandals and thinks it would be 'foolish' to say that Horner is not a reason for Newey leaving Red Bull.

Speaking to OLBG, Priestley said as a team member of a Formula 1 team, outside noise is never healthy. "I can only compare the Christian Horner situation at Red Bull to when I've been involved in a team when the bigger news is not happening on the race track. That's never where you want to be as a Formula 1 team. The story is dominating the news."

"When you're an engineer and a member of that team, you can focus in the garage and still help generate great results for the team. But when you go home at the end of a Grand Prix and go to the pub, it's all anyone wants to talk about."

Priestley compares Red Bull chaos to 'Spygate'

Spygate, as it was quickly dubbed, was a 2007 scandal where McLaren were found with hundreds of pages of confidential Ferrari information. They were stripped of their constructor's title that year and had to pay the incredible sum of $100 million. Priestley understands what it's like to be involved in a team shrouded in news from outside the track. "Everyone wants to ask you about Horner or 'Spygate' as it was for me. You see a newspaper headline about stuff behind the scenes rather than results on the track. When you're working in a winning team, you want to brag about your results, but everyone else wants to talk about controversy or politics. It can be distracting, Red Bull is doing very well keeping it out of the news and focusing on their results, and that's all you can do as a member of that team." 

So why exactly is Adrian Newey leaving the world champions? Priestley believes it could be down to several factors, but is certain that Horner is partly the reason: "I'm fairly sure a reason why Adrian Newey is leaving is because of Horner, but he's also been there almost 20 years. With the regulation changes in 2026 coming up, he may want a challenge somewhere else. I have no doubt that because he could easily retire at his age, it was easier for him to walk away from Red Bull. It would be foolish to say that Horner is not a reason for Newey leaving Red Bull."