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Surprisingly, Red Bull allowed Adrian Newey to get out of his contract early, without having to serve a period of ‘gardening leave’. Team boss Christian Horner reveals why.
On Wednesday, Red Bull announced that their Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey will leave the team in early 2025.
Newey signed a contract extension with Red Bull in 2023, which was supposed to expire at the end of 2025 and reportedly included a one-year ‘non-compete clause’.
This means that he would not be able to go to another team until 2027 at the earliest, well into the era of new F1 regulations that will start in 2026.
However, not only did Newey’s team negotiate an early release, but he will also not have to serve this period of ‘gardening leave’, and will be able to start work with a different team immediately after his Red Bull exit in early 2025.
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Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was asked why he allowed Newey to get out of his contract early, with no ‘gardening leave’ period.
“Yes, you can hold people to pieces of paper, but it’s about relationships at the end of the day and respect,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.
“What he chooses to do beyond that, if he ends up re-finding his motivation to go all in in F1, then who knows.
“He’s not going to be short of offers but I think the most important thing for him at the moment is to get some rest,” the Briton concluded.