Max Verstappen hinted he knew about Adrian Newey’s departure to Aston Martin in the 2025 season after observing Lawrence Stroll. The Red Bull champion reacted to the news in a chat with the media ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Newey, the legendary British designer, officially locked in his future with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, signing up for a long-term career change. Starting March 1, 2025, Newey will take the reins as Managing Technical Partner at the team’s Silverstone HQ after signing a reported £30,000,000 a year contract.
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“From my side it’s very difficult to know how the team is operating and stuff… I’m happy for Adrian, I quickly spoke to him, but it’s just different challenges, right? When you’ve been with the team for a long time, I can also see that maybe for him, [it’s] a new challenge,” Verstappen admitted at Baku on Thursday.
“For sure, I know that Lawrence [Stroll, Aston Martin owner] is pushing flat out to make it a success and of course I hope for them that it can be a success. From our side, we’ve had some issues with the car and now we’re just trying to fix that. It’s not like from one to the other weekend it suddenly is all done. Especially with the budget cap as well, it’s not that easy to turn the car around. We have to be a bit patient.”
Speaking of changes at Red Bull after Adrian’s exit, Max added: “It’s difficult to tell, to be honest. At one point, if someone decides to leave, you have to also in a way move on. You’ve had a lot of success together, but you can’t just stay in the past, you have to look forward. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’ve had a few difficult weekends, we’re trying to understand the car better, basically, and trying to be more competitive.”
Newey’s got plenty to keep him busy: with F1’s 2026 technical reset looming, the integration of Honda’s works power units, cutting-edge Aramco fuels, and the sport’s newest wind tunnel, Newey’s got his work cut out – but if anyone’s up for it, it’s him.
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Speaking to the media, he said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team. I have been hugely inspired and impressed by the passion and commitment that Lawrence brings to everything he is involved with.
“Lawrence is determined to create a world-beating team. He is the only majority team owner who is actively engaged in the sport. His commitment is demonstrated in the development of the new AMR Technology Campus and wind tunnel at Silverstone, which are not only state of the art but have a layout that creates a great environment to work in.
“Together with great partners like Honda and Aramco, they have all the key pieces of infrastructure needed to make Aston Martin a world championship-winning team and I am very much looking forward to helping reach that goal.”
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