Christian Horner claims Red Bull knew 'time' of Adrian Newey exit was coming

We knew this time was coming. With the team, and the strength and the engineering depth that we have, [Newey has chosen now] to step away. Christian Horner said in an interview with RacingNews365

The 50-year-old stated that he was already aware of his compatriot’s intentions to leave the team. He further revealed that during the start of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014, Newey was on the verge of quitting the team, so his departure had been in the pipeline for quite a time, and expected it to happen soon.

Christian Horner claims things will remain under control at Red Bull even after Adrian Newey’s departure

F1 pundits have claimed that Red Bull’s aerodynamic lead would fade with the loss of its chief. Moreover, the situation seems spiraling downward for the Milton Keynes-based squad, as the power struggles could even push their star driver and consultant to move to Brackley.

However, the team principal is confident that the team would not pirouette downward and would handle the situation at hand without the design legend.

I think we're well positioned for the future with the technical team that we have. We always knew this day was coming, and it's something that from 2014, when Adrian came very close to leaving, that structure was assembled. Christian Horner said in an interview with RacingNews365

The Englishman claimed that he does not need to worry about the lack of integrity within the team. Moreover, he had set a reliable aerodynamics and chassis structure within the team due to the scares of Newey leaving early, which would take over his operations and make the team unaffected by his loss.

Despite Horner’s claims, the situation is quite sensitive at the Austrian giant due to its recent loss. Thus, huge responsibility lay on the Brit’s shoulders to help his team stay at the top of the table even after Newey’s exit and to gain the trust of the hierarchy in Austria to stay at the helm of the team for longer.