Christian Horner and Adrian Newey have reportedly ‘repaired’ their relationship after the legendary aerodynamicist quit the 51-year-old’s Red Bull squad to join Aston Martin during the 2024 season.
Newey helped Red Bull to eight Drivers’ and six Constructors’ Championship titles during an 18-year stay with the Milton Keynes squad, but after Horner was accused of inappropriate behaviour – allegations he thoroughly denied, and was cleared of after a thorough investigation – the relationship reportedly soured.
This led to Newey’s departure from Red Bull, which was confirmed in May 2024, four months before his contract with Aston Martin was announced. However, according to The Race, the friendship between Horner and the 66-year-old has since been repaired, and they even attended an Oasis concert together.
The duo’s fortunes have been heavily contrasted over the past 12 months. Horner was sacked from his position as Red Bull team principal after the British Grand Prix in July, as the Milton Keynes squad tried desperately to avoid losing star driver Max Verstappen to Mercedes.
Newey, meanwhile, has been hard at work on Aston Martin’s first challenger of the new technical regulations, which come into effect at the start of the 2026 season. Team Silverstone are languishing in seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship currently, with their attention turned towards the AMR25’s much-anticipated successor.
“Yeah, he’s an incredible person, the best designer in the history of our sport, and everyone in the team is learning a lot from him,” two-time world champion Fernando Alonso said of his experience working with Newey.
For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to our Daily Express F1 newsletter, or join our WhatsApp community here.
“Everything Adrian does, you try to understand why he is doing that, why he chose that direction, or why he’s answering in that way, because there is always something to learn from him. Even from a simple answer that he can give to you in response to a question, that simple answer can be so clear to him, but why is it not for others?
“There are moments when, to be able to understand him, you need to use all your brain capacity. Even if Adrian only uses 5 per cent, for us, for normal people, we need to use much more!”
Horner is still waiting to choose his next move in the F1 paddock. The Brit has been floated as a potential option for a number of teams, but Aston Martin and Cadillac have reiterated their faith in Andy Cowell and Graeme Lowdon, respectively, following speculative links to their organisations. Flavio Briatore also shut down a move to Alpine.
