Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsRed Bull Racing

Newey needed a break from F1

Adrian Newey says his decision to reduce his influence at Red Bull was due to a need to take a break from the pressures of F1.

Red Bull's chief technical officer stepped back from F1 at the end of the 2014 season, focusing more on other projects within Red Bull Technology. While he has made clear his disillusionment with the current power unit regulations, Newey also says he felt drained following a run of four consecutive constructors' championships.

"My role in F1 … I have stepped back a little bit at the moment to look at different projects," Newey told The National. "I have hugely enjoyed my career. It’s been a fantastic career. I would like to be involved in some other areas of engineering before I finally retire.

"So I am planning to get a little bit involved in a road car project. I have also done a small amount of work on an America’s Cup boat. So different things just to stimulate myself because I must admit that at the end of those four championships years [2010 to 2013], I was quite tired.

"F1 is quite high-pressure. If you do it year-after-year, it can be quite exhausting. So I just felt I needed a little bit of a break and I have just stepped back a little at the moment. Still involved, but stepped back a little bit."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.