Red Bull hand contract to Adrian Newey replacement as Christian Horner moves on
Christian Horner will lose long-time ally Adrian Newey
Red Bull have tied Pierre Waché down to a long-term contract, with the Frenchman set to lead the team’s design efforts in Adrian Newey ‘s absence.
Newey joined Red Bull in 2006 and his ideas have inspired every one of the team’s title-winning cars since. In recent years, though, his role has been unique and more focused on big-picture projects.
Technical director Waché has been in charge of day-to-day development of Red Bull’s cars. But he has been one of several figures at the team who had grown frustrated at living in Newey’s shadow.
The Frenchman was recently linked with a switch to Ferrari. But, with Newey now headed for the exit – possibly to join the Italians himself – the opportunity has arisen for him to step up and lead Red Bull into the future.
RacingNews365 reports Waché signed a new contract with the team earlier this year, before news of Newey’s planned departure was official. But team principal Christian Horner says he has suspected for a while that the 65-year-old would be leaving sooner rather than later.
Waché’s new deal say him commit to the team until 2028. So he will be the man to lead Red Bull into a new set of regulations, and his decision to re-sign is a clear message to interested parties that he is happy to remain where he is.
Keeping hold of figures like Waché will be crucial to Horner whose task is to ensure Newey’s departure does not spark an exodus of top staff. Sporting director Jonathan Wheatley is one of those considering his future with the team.
But Horner is remaining calm, on the surface at least, about the team’s future. And he insists he is not concerned about losing a swathe of colleagues in the coming months and is “absolutely” confident there will be no exodus.
He said: “Our key pillars are in place for the future. The technical team are all on long term contracts. We’ve been having to think about this moment for some time. Everything stays the same. Adrian’s role was unique. I mean, Adrian is unique. So he drew on a drawing board and the way that he operated was, was totally unique.
“He didn’t have anybody report to him. He was a free spirit within the organisation, so the organisation stays exactly as it is. We’ve got strength in stability and strength in depth and, you know, we’re grateful for the, for the time and the shape that he’s left the technical team in.”