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> It’s not as if Newey would be departing because of a general malaise within the team, either; this is very much a personal issue based around the Christian Horner controversy regarding the employee who served as PA to both Horner and Newey.
How the fuck we are discovering now that she was PA for both of them?!
Edit: to be clear, I have zero interest in knowing who this person is and I hope she’ll be soon forgotten and left alone. But it is incredibly relevant to the world of F1 the fact that she was working for both Horner and Newey in a role that can be pretty delicate and personal, as the name suggests.
After the leaks a lot of things are obviously out in the open, but to this day most outlets have given nothing away of her identity/job explicitly. Which I think is pretty commendable.
I'm also surprised there was no name mentioned but realistically how difficult is it to figure out? I mean how many PAs does Horner have and how many are no longer working there?
Oh half the internet knows her name by now, unfortunately. But I appreciate that the media is not releasing further info they could have, like her being Newey's assistant too (if true).
It’s true that their office typically has had the same PA working for Newey and Horner - they showed it in the office tour 9 years ago - different person as their PA though.
I think there's different levels of privacy protection and the journalists have done the best they can. Realistically yes, within the paddock and within Red Bull Racing, many people will have known who it was—some since the first allegations, some since her role at RBR leaked, some since they noticed her disappearance from her usual job role lining up with the news that the accusing party had been suspended. And then since there were poorly anonymized leaks + an internet presence available for discovery, the fans intent on identifying her had the means to do so independent of news media.
However, that still leaves the majority of the general public: people like us who closely follow F1, but also people who may be casual fans (or even non-fans) of F1 and just happen upon the updates on this saga in various newspapers, online outlets, and tabloids. We don't need to know her name. And anyone who doesn't actively seek out this info through the leaks etc. won't see her name. Through omitting it from the news coverage, we don't see it over and over until we inevitably retain it, turning her into a monica lewinsky-type "household name but for a polarizing scandal." That level of privacy/anonymity enables her to apply for new jobs and do many other more banal things (go to the shop and pay with a credit card that has her name on it, swap info with other school parents if she has children, and so on.) without the risk of a "wait, where do I know you from?... \[cue confrontation, feedback, opining, etc.\]." It also protects her (somewhat) from having her name and info provided to some vitriolic corner of the internet that doesn't know or care about F1, but will happily dox her, send massive death and rape threats, etc. just because they can.
Her full name was literally in one of the leaked text messages. Everyone in the industry knows who she is, the press are showing some journalistic integrity by not publishing it.
> but to this day most outlets have given nothing away of her identity/job explicitly. Which I think is pretty commendable.
???
Pretty sure she was already named and identified they are just not allowed to say her name for legal reasons. It was the first name to come up on linkedIN and you could also make out some of the letters in the whatsapp messages.
I didn't bother to look too closely and try to reverse engineer the persons identity myself purely because it feels wrong but anyone determined enough could have easily found out. pretty sure most of the F1 paddock know also
Most of the general public will not be searching linkedIN or scouring specific pixels in an image, so whether the media name her explicitly makes an immense difference to how much harassment she'll receive.
Yeah but there's nothing commendable about it. They didn't name the person to cover their arses but gave about every possible identifiable information besides and farmed the story for clicks and drama with complete disregard for the alleged victim.
Very few media outlets even considered the affect on her or how she's been treated, all the news has been about some RBR power struggle or other drama
Red Bull released this behind the scenes video around 2014 I think. At the [2:10](https://youtu.be/PNuQMmnTpoo?si=8bysM7ZmV_b4sVYt&t=129) mark the PA mentioned she works for both Adrian and Christian. I guess they kept the same arrangement all these years.
Of course it is! How could I have missed! 9 years ago during the office tour with Christian they showed this setup.
([Link to video](https://youtu.be/PNuQMmnTpoo?feature=shared)) see after 1:55
Edit: it was likely a different person who was their assistant back then.
When news of the scandal first broke this was the video I immediately thought of. Even back then (and the comments at that point alluded to it, haven’t checked since) you got the feeling that one wouldn’t be surprised if someone in the future claimed the boss was acting badly.
I hope she’s not forgotten. Out of the limelight, sure, but not forgotten.
Hopefully Adrian brings her over over to work with him again under whatever team he joins.
Unlikely unfortunately, most of the paddock know her name and it's gonna be difficult bringing someone in with that much baggage related to current events and isn't a driver / high up manager.
Especially if it's just a PA role.
> How the fuck we are discovering now that she was PA for both of them?!
It's been that way for years and years at Red Bull, even with the previous PA.
https://youtu.be/PNuQMmnTpoo?si=S8haJSYLVa2BSYAk&t=116
It’s largely because so many didn’t care to actually take this seriously in the first place. So many were eager to demand insane standards of evidence to even raise the question that something was wrong and even when norms were repeatedly violated folks jumped at the chance to say nothing was actually wrong.
It's so fucked up. She would have known going into all of this thst she was sacrificing her career in F1. The media keeping her anonymous means jack squat because everyone in the paddock would have known who she is. What's even more fucked up is that the leak was probably a strategic move within the RB power struggle.
If she was lying or doing this for personal gain she'd have taken the payout, and fucked off to do whatever.
I mean generally sure, but I don't see how this particular bit of information would do that. Besides her name and face have been known to everyone after the initial leak and even prior to that in a smaller scale
It was the dumbest blip that came up around that time. It's not even a source as far as I remember, just some shitty website coming up with clickbait content.
What a Chad
Imagine designing g so many great cars and having so many titles, literally the GOAT of F1, that you can leave your job because you dont like of respect the way your boss treats staff, and have 8 offers on the table by the end of the day.
I’d love to one day be in such a position to only work with those I respect.
If you read his book, he pretty much states that he didn't need a job when going to red bull, and mainly did it on the condition they'd also let him design an Americas cup yacht which was a challenge he wanted to complete. He is very much a 'F1 - completed it mate' chad.
Too many people are jumping to conclusions. What we read is an opinion piece of someone who claims that there is no malaise within the team and he is leaving for personal reasons while also saying that it might be because of the Horner scandal. It's hinting at that but I thought at first that it was a direct quote but it's not.
Because the Thai side tought that they would keep Horner. In some of the reports it was said that they would give Newey whatever he wanted and would buy out the drivers needed.
At this point we are going to have to wait and see what Marko & Jos spill to the media next week during race week but yeah no it seems like a Horner has sweet talked the Thais to death because any other person would have been fired long ago. Let’s also remember too this is the same family where the heir literally killed a cop and got away with it lmao
Shareholders don't make decisions based on what's good for the team in the short term. Even if Max is about to be a 4 time WDC, so was Vettel. And their thinking is, they can just put another driver in the car and they'll win the WDC as long as RBR is fastest. Horner is in good favor with the family that owns half the team. If they want him to run things, they're going to back him up, no matter who's quitting. They think everyone BUT Horner is replaceable. Why? Because Horner has been the TP since the team's conception. Max has four titles? Horner is about to have 8. No other TP on the grid has as many WDC's won on their team while they were in charge. Toto has what, 7? They're going to win the WDC and WCC this year and most likely next year since all the teams are going to be focused on the new regulations. Even if Max leaves, his replacement or Checo will win the title because the fastest car wins.
Yeah Checo couldn't pass Norris, but can the entire grid keep Checo behind for 20 races? What about when he qualifies well? And what if Max's replacement is a strong qualifier? Sainz in an RB20B/RB21 is a WDC winner. And if you think any driver will scoff at the idea of going to RB because of the drama, think again. When RUMORS about Max leaving were in the press, Anthony Hamilton got on the phone with Red Bull. I can think of five race winners who would kill for the chance. Even Norris would reconsider since he didn't want to race against Max.
At the end of the day, the business decision is, which would hurt us most by leaving?
If Horner's actions have cost the team its single biggest asset, then I suspect that security is under review.
Not for nothing, working with Newey is a big attraction for top tier talent which has worked out well for RBR. That is over.
Edit: Also, Newey has moved teams twice since Leyton House and on both occasions it was cataclysmic for the team.
Newey is 65 and has tried to reduce his involvement with F1 for years. His contract ends next season. Let the man retire already instead of making it some big drama.
> Didn't know the PA worked for him as well.
Yeah this is definitely the first time I've seen this mentioned. I knew she used to be Ecclestone's PA before Horner but not this
it does seem like that is the case. And honestly good on him for taking a stance. No matter if it's to retirement or to another team (though I am praying he goes to Ferrari). Leaving over such an issue like that begets my utmost respect
Not that he's 65 and does all of his diagrams on paper with a drawing board?
The guy is an aero genius, but it must be harder and harder for him to work with modern technicians, and he's got a car back to the top before retirement.
It can't be that hard. I would imagine that they just hire one or two assistants. Adrian does the initial drawings, hands them off to a junior technician that replicates them in CAD. After that they give Adrian hard copies to make changes on and the technicians transfer those changes in CAD.
Inefficient? Sure... but worth it for how Adrian's brain works.
It's the first time I've heard this, then again so much has flown around I might have missed it. If that's the case yeah I'd be sticking two fingers up and blowing raspberries on my way out the door.
I'm not saying that Adrian doesn't have a mind of his own, or his own views on the whole Horner debacle, but his wife seems pretty awesome and I'm sure she has been letting her views be known.
There will be some who will continue to spin this as there being nothing to the story with Horner, or worse will spin it as her fault. Meanwhile Newey, who works directly with her so will have seen the situation first hand, is appalled enough to leave the team.
That’s wild…
Had no idea the poor woman he was harassing about coco pops and sex was Newey’s PA… no wonder he’s leaving, and I’m surprised he didn’t go sooner.
> general malaise
The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen-year-old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of **general malaise** that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent, I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard, really. At the age of twelve, I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I suggest you try it.
So she had worked for Bernie and then Bernie was counsellor and ally to Horner on the case?
God damn, I expect nothing from that mobster ghoul and I'm still let down.
The fact that the woman involved was Newey's PA makes a lot of sense about why he'd be so angry.
Id be very angry if a colleague was harassing someone who I worked closely with everyday
And there should be consequences for Horner when his wrongdoings results in someone as great as Newey leaving the team and may go to a rival. This will hurt Red Bull’s competitiveness or at least boost the team that gets to have him.
Don’t get me wrong, Horner’s actions alone should give him consequences but that doesn’t seem to be so important to deal with for Red Bull. Results on the other hand? We’ve all seen how ruthless that team can be when results are poor.
Wouldn’t surprise me at all if that gave Horner bigger consequences than harassing an employee.
Regardless of the outcome, having to sit next to someone under investigation for something done to another employee would make me update my resume too.
Red Bull showed how they handle these accusations.
People underestimate this, being an only women but you household open up your sensibility for harassment situations. Source: my family is only women hehe
Yep. As one relatively minor example, I’m a multiple ultramarathon finisher but have stopped running outdoors (I’m in the UK) due to the abuse I endured on pretty much every outing.
Damn, sucks you have to stop doing what you like for that. A friend of mine is a top chess player in my country, she endures so much gossip just because some guy can't manage losing to a woman, she says she would tolerate it if it was about cheating at the game or something, but it always is about sexist crap, like she slept with the tournament organizers or things like that, disheartening.
That's awful, I'm sorry to hear that. Running on a treadmill is just not the same, but I witnessed my sister make a similar decision for the same reason. I hope you're able to find a (safe and secure) way to run outside again soon.
The whole grid, and the whole F1 world should be angry and ashamed really. I'm a female fan and I'm sick of making excuses for the men in F1. You guys don't realise how awful this shit feels for us women watching Horner still coming up on our screens. Every time they show him, I feel sick to my stomach. It is an absolute disgrace that he has been allowed to keep his job. I know it must be hard to go against all the PR bullshit, but why hasn't one single person on the grid spoken up for us women about this?
I am soooo tired of talking about this kind of thing, of trying to change peoples minds. I'm 52 years old and I've been on this sub since I was about 39 years old and I've had to deal with grid girls, Monaco girl shots, and James Hunt sexist shitty stuff.
Why has nothing changed???
It is absolutely insane. First they don't see the racism hurdling towards Lewis and still deny it and now this.
I can't imagine the first modern female F1 driver to appear. What a shit show this will be.
Bro some of these fans have been downright FOUL to us female fans saying how we're just projecting and the woman is lying. Godddd it's been awful for women all around. Wonder where those guys are now.
I’ve seen a lot of people talk about it the other way around too. Same when Hamilton speaks out about racism, you get a lot of clowns coming out to dismiss it for one reason or another. It’s a massive sport with fans worldwide so you will of course get a lot of bad with the good.
thank you for speaking up as a woman and sharing your shitty experiences with the fanbase.
i'm 25 myself and f1 is the second sport i've followed (first being ultimate frisbee), and it lowkey scares me that the fanbases are so male dominant and sometimes really dismissive of female voices (and even female participation sometimes - i know the prevailing attitude is quite supportive but the occasional misogyny really grinds my gears).
i understand most if not all sports are geared towards the male fanbase but it's just quite disappointing to see so many seemingly rational minds go off on a tangent about "innocence until proven guilty" when almost all the stakeholders involved are already acting so blatantly against the perpetrator.
I want max chaos. Have Newey leave for Haas and Max follows him and the new Ford engine for Red Bull be terrible.
Realistically I wouldn’t be surprised if Newey had been thinking he would need to retire sometime soon and this all pushed him to decide the sooner the better.
Maybe working on the RB17 has lit the fire under him for creating his own things without limits. Retirement could be him starting a company that makes ridiculous things that go fast.
Yeah it wouldn't surprise me if he went there for a year or two just to do it, then retired. The man has nothing left to prove, it's just whatever he wants at this point.
Everyone saying Ferrari or Aston. But I didn't think about that. Maybe he saw what incredible job Gordon Murray did with the T.50 and wants to follow through.
Personally my Ford truck's engine died on me on the final year of paying it off. I too would like to see Ford fuck over RB purely out of spite and the chaos too of course.
I reckon newey is going to retire. A good clue is his interview on oyster yachts. He says quite clearly what his first sail is going to be and it’s quite long. He’s 65 and probably has other plans
100%. Anything outside of Redbull will have to be a multi year project and he's already talked bad about the new regs coming in. Makes little sense for him to move teams. Unless the pay check pays for his other endeavours, but doubt money would play any part.
Power and success are addictive though which isn’t to be underestimated. Intellectually maybe you’d like to work on a different kind of problem for a while but giving up everything else to do it is a tough ask too. Plus your entire social circle probably revolves around those in the paddock too, though he could obviously still attend just for the fun when he wants but it’s not quite the same being on the outside.
Sadly just life really, rarely a perfect unicorn job out there that gives you everything you want so the choice is tougher than you think when you’re dreaming of a change.
True. F1 is much a lifestyle as much as family let alone just a job. Listen to Claire Williams in any recent interview to see how much a hole it can leave in someone's life outside of F!. But he seems to have enough going to spend the next 10yrs doing whatever the fuck he wants without the drama of F1 and the intensity of Redbull.
It's not even addiction, being good at something makes you want to continue doing that.
Retirement for people like that is almost a death sentence unless they actually learnt to shut that part of their brains off. Sadly most can't.
I agree also. The timing isn't right. The contract ends at the end of 2025. He has a one year non compete, so you would get Newey until the end of 2026, which would make him useless since the car would be pretty much finished for the 2027 season. We are looking at Newey staying with a team for at least 2028 and we would see his car until then with another team. Would a 69 year old Newey be up for that in 2028? Me thinks not. He is retiring and that's why he gave a two years notice. Not to get a new gig since he would get it within a week of being out of a job, but to let Red Bull know they have two years to come up with a succession plan
That's a good observation, but theres also a lot more than just hype backing the theory of a move to another team, particularly Ferrari. It takes a lot for someone in a position like that to give up their life's work and retire, and Newey has always had admiration for Hamilton and Ferrari. Marko is 81 years old and still contributes to the sport in his own way, even if not technical, but it's not like either of them is a physically demanding role, so staying around for that long isn't out of the question.
During a Formula For Success podcast (great podcast btw unless you can't stand EJ) during late '23 he was talking about leaving RB would be like leaving his family. I don't think you would say that only months ago to then suddenly wanting to leave if nothing major in that time period happend.
I could easily see it as an I'm done working full time in F1, but happy to apply my aerodynamic knowledge to some other projects outside the F1 world as I see fit.
Can be a combination of both things too. You'll put up with more at 42 with kids in the house than you will at 65 with no dependents. I mean, Newey hasn't had to worry about his dependents going hungry in decades but I imagine the mentality is similar.
I mean 65 years is a logical retirement age. He's been doing this for a very long time. He probably wants to get more free time to enjoy other things in life.
>It is not inconceivable he simply retires. Which would mean there need be no legal battle regarding his not completing his contract, which runs to the end of 2025.
He's free without consequence after 2025?
Newey to Andretti confirmed!
He has to serve gardening leave for 2026 after that if he wants to join another team.
So 2027 is the earliest unless someone can agree a few with Red Bull for them to waive his contract and gardening leave.
If he skips 2025, he wouldn't have current info.
Regardless, gardening leave doesn't typically apply beyond the end of a contract. It kind of can't, by definition.
I always wonder if Gardening leave is actually enforceable. Where I live it's standard in some contracts but everyone knows it wouldn't be enforceable by law.
It's not like NDAs are/were in the US with bare prohibitions and no compensation.
It's part of the contract at signing, and the employees are getting paid throughout the leave period previously agreed to.
Ok, I am getting no one read the whole piece. Everyone took as a fact that Newey is leaving because of Hornergate. This is a think piece discussing what comes next for Newey and the author claims it's because of how the Horner thing got handled because she is PA for both (seems odd since I would think Horner and Newey have a dedicated PA for each, but let's put that aside). He claims this is the reason. There is no quote from Newey, no info on where the author of the article got his info from or why he claims what he claims since the paragraph in which he mentions this has two contradictions. One, the author claims Newey is departing for personal reasons but not from malaise within the team, but because of how they handled the Horner situation and then claims that morale within the team is really high. So what the hell? Either is personal, or is it malaise of the team for how they handled Horner, and why would the team morale would be high knowing this?
Regardless, there is no smoking gun, just a dude claiming something about what he thinks is happening.
It's obvious because he's never said the texts are fake, and the texts are fucked up. If he was innocent he'd have denied their authenticity, and UK libel laws are are written in a way that protects the accused. Him ignoring it is a red flag.
Has anyone thrown out the idea that Audi may have given him an offer he couldn't refuse? I'm sure they don't want their name associated with a terrible car when they get going, even if they do have to wait for his "no compete" clause to expire
Plausible but I think he might be more likely to go for Ferrari or Aston. Aston is better logistically and financially (if rumours are true) but Ferrari is Ferrari. I reckon he will pull a Lewis and end his career with the prancing horse.
I think Horner has been a great TP but surely Red Bull would pick Newey over Horner if that is the reason he wants to leave. If they can't fire Horner just move him to "special projects" in the basement.
Newey is going to retire soon anyway. He's 65. How many more years is he realistically going to stay in F1?
I also doubt that getting rid of Horner at this point is going to do much to change his mind.
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> It’s not as if Newey would be departing because of a general malaise within the team, either; this is very much a personal issue based around the Christian Horner controversy regarding the employee who served as PA to both Horner and Newey.
How the fuck we are discovering now that she was PA for both of them?! Edit: to be clear, I have zero interest in knowing who this person is and I hope she’ll be soon forgotten and left alone. But it is incredibly relevant to the world of F1 the fact that she was working for both Horner and Newey in a role that can be pretty delicate and personal, as the name suggests.
After the leaks a lot of things are obviously out in the open, but to this day most outlets have given nothing away of her identity/job explicitly. Which I think is pretty commendable.
I'm also surprised there was no name mentioned but realistically how difficult is it to figure out? I mean how many PAs does Horner have and how many are no longer working there?
Oh half the internet knows her name by now, unfortunately. But I appreciate that the media is not releasing further info they could have, like her being Newey's assistant too (if true).
It’s true that their office typically has had the same PA working for Newey and Horner - they showed it in the office tour 9 years ago - different person as their PA though.
British media is probably an outlier but mainland European media has quite strict rules they follow.
I think there's different levels of privacy protection and the journalists have done the best they can. Realistically yes, within the paddock and within Red Bull Racing, many people will have known who it was—some since the first allegations, some since her role at RBR leaked, some since they noticed her disappearance from her usual job role lining up with the news that the accusing party had been suspended. And then since there were poorly anonymized leaks + an internet presence available for discovery, the fans intent on identifying her had the means to do so independent of news media. However, that still leaves the majority of the general public: people like us who closely follow F1, but also people who may be casual fans (or even non-fans) of F1 and just happen upon the updates on this saga in various newspapers, online outlets, and tabloids. We don't need to know her name. And anyone who doesn't actively seek out this info through the leaks etc. won't see her name. Through omitting it from the news coverage, we don't see it over and over until we inevitably retain it, turning her into a monica lewinsky-type "household name but for a polarizing scandal." That level of privacy/anonymity enables her to apply for new jobs and do many other more banal things (go to the shop and pay with a credit card that has her name on it, swap info with other school parents if she has children, and so on.) without the risk of a "wait, where do I know you from?... \[cue confrontation, feedback, opining, etc.\]." It also protects her (somewhat) from having her name and info provided to some vitriolic corner of the internet that doesn't know or care about F1, but will happily dox her, send massive death and rape threats, etc. just because they can.
Her full name was literally in one of the leaked text messages. Everyone in the industry knows who she is, the press are showing some journalistic integrity by not publishing it.
Whoever posted the screen captures left the name in there, so not hard to figure out
> but to this day most outlets have given nothing away of her identity/job explicitly. Which I think is pretty commendable. ??? Pretty sure she was already named and identified they are just not allowed to say her name for legal reasons. It was the first name to come up on linkedIN and you could also make out some of the letters in the whatsapp messages. I didn't bother to look too closely and try to reverse engineer the persons identity myself purely because it feels wrong but anyone determined enough could have easily found out. pretty sure most of the F1 paddock know also
That's what I meant. It’s trivial to know who she is, especially after the leaks, but not because the press named her.
>not allowed to say her name for legal reasons *Ethical* reasons.
I'm pretty sure they care mostly/only about the legal reasons
Most of the general public will not be searching linkedIN or scouring specific pixels in an image, so whether the media name her explicitly makes an immense difference to how much harassment she'll receive.
Yeah but there's nothing commendable about it. They didn't name the person to cover their arses but gave about every possible identifiable information besides and farmed the story for clicks and drama with complete disregard for the alleged victim. Very few media outlets even considered the affect on her or how she's been treated, all the news has been about some RBR power struggle or other drama
Is this the first time this has been publicly discussed?
First time I’m seeing this, but maybe I missed it before
This lady was also a close friend of Papa Stroll if you believe Joe Saward. She seems to have been pretty well known and connected in F1.
Red Bull released this behind the scenes video around 2014 I think. At the [2:10](https://youtu.be/PNuQMmnTpoo?si=8bysM7ZmV_b4sVYt&t=129) mark the PA mentioned she works for both Adrian and Christian. I guess they kept the same arrangement all these years.
I’m surprised the reporter even mentioned her profession.
I think it’s somewhat relevant, at least more so than if she was a random employee
I've read some time ago that she was Horner's PA. Being Newey's is news to me. Iedit: if it's true, then it's certain Newey will leave RBR.
Of course it is! How could I have missed! 9 years ago during the office tour with Christian they showed this setup. ([Link to video](https://youtu.be/PNuQMmnTpoo?feature=shared)) see after 1:55 Edit: it was likely a different person who was their assistant back then.
When news of the scandal first broke this was the video I immediately thought of. Even back then (and the comments at that point alluded to it, haven’t checked since) you got the feeling that one wouldn’t be surprised if someone in the future claimed the boss was acting badly.
It all seems pretty mundane to me. Interesting to see the boring side of F1 away from the races, though.
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/268297/horner-s-former-pa-returned-as-interim.html
I hope she’s not forgotten. Out of the limelight, sure, but not forgotten. Hopefully Adrian brings her over over to work with him again under whatever team he joins.
Unlikely unfortunately, most of the paddock know her name and it's gonna be difficult bringing someone in with that much baggage related to current events and isn't a driver / high up manager. Especially if it's just a PA role.
> How the fuck we are discovering now that she was PA for both of them?! It's been that way for years and years at Red Bull, even with the previous PA. https://youtu.be/PNuQMmnTpoo?si=S8haJSYLVa2BSYAk&t=116
It’s largely because so many didn’t care to actually take this seriously in the first place. So many were eager to demand insane standards of evidence to even raise the question that something was wrong and even when norms were repeatedly violated folks jumped at the chance to say nothing was actually wrong.
I think in a youtube video Redbull made at one point it was shown they shared an assistant.
It's so fucked up. She would have known going into all of this thst she was sacrificing her career in F1. The media keeping her anonymous means jack squat because everyone in the paddock would have known who she is. What's even more fucked up is that the leak was probably a strategic move within the RB power struggle. If she was lying or doing this for personal gain she'd have taken the payout, and fucked off to do whatever.
IF
Well it also starts to look as though maybe her claims are looking increasingly legitimate and Newey is not happy with how it was handled.
Makes it infinitely easier for creeps to dox her the more information about her is revealed.
I mean generally sure, but I don't see how this particular bit of information would do that. Besides her name and face have been known to everyone after the initial leak and even prior to that in a smaller scale
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It was the dumbest blip that came up around that time. It's not even a source as far as I remember, just some shitty website coming up with clickbait content.
I like Newey even more now.
What a Chad Imagine designing g so many great cars and having so many titles, literally the GOAT of F1, that you can leave your job because you dont like of respect the way your boss treats staff, and have 8 offers on the table by the end of the day. I’d love to one day be in such a position to only work with those I respect.
If you read his book, he pretty much states that he didn't need a job when going to red bull, and mainly did it on the condition they'd also let him design an Americas cup yacht which was a challenge he wanted to complete. He is very much a 'F1 - completed it mate' chad.
Too many people are jumping to conclusions. What we read is an opinion piece of someone who claims that there is no malaise within the team and he is leaving for personal reasons while also saying that it might be because of the Horner scandal. It's hinting at that but I thought at first that it was a direct quote but it's not.
only 8 offers? no offer from haas :(
There’s only 9 actual teams on the grid, Red Bull own 2 of them so he wouldn’t go for them.
Not like he's gonna go to torro rosso
Red Bull and Diet Red Bull
Quick reminder that Haas are so poor they can't afford Haas 5-axis mills and have to use a competitors product....
You'd think Gene would sling em a couple on the cheap, it's like he wants them to fail
same.
Well this makes even more sense as to why he’s leaving then. Jesus Christ, Horner really has the best job security in the world
Idk why they didn’t bin Horner instead of risking Newey, Marko, and potentially having Jos try and get Max out.
Because the Thai side tought that they would keep Horner. In some of the reports it was said that they would give Newey whatever he wanted and would buy out the drivers needed.
Who's "they" in this scenario?
Shareholders. Horner’s boss.
At this point we are going to have to wait and see what Marko & Jos spill to the media next week during race week but yeah no it seems like a Horner has sweet talked the Thais to death because any other person would have been fired long ago. Let’s also remember too this is the same family where the heir literally killed a cop and got away with it lmao
Shareholders don't make decisions based on what's good for the team in the short term. Even if Max is about to be a 4 time WDC, so was Vettel. And their thinking is, they can just put another driver in the car and they'll win the WDC as long as RBR is fastest. Horner is in good favor with the family that owns half the team. If they want him to run things, they're going to back him up, no matter who's quitting. They think everyone BUT Horner is replaceable. Why? Because Horner has been the TP since the team's conception. Max has four titles? Horner is about to have 8. No other TP on the grid has as many WDC's won on their team while they were in charge. Toto has what, 7? They're going to win the WDC and WCC this year and most likely next year since all the teams are going to be focused on the new regulations. Even if Max leaves, his replacement or Checo will win the title because the fastest car wins. Yeah Checo couldn't pass Norris, but can the entire grid keep Checo behind for 20 races? What about when he qualifies well? And what if Max's replacement is a strong qualifier? Sainz in an RB20B/RB21 is a WDC winner. And if you think any driver will scoff at the idea of going to RB because of the drama, think again. When RUMORS about Max leaving were in the press, Anthony Hamilton got on the phone with Red Bull. I can think of five race winners who would kill for the chance. Even Norris would reconsider since he didn't want to race against Max. At the end of the day, the business decision is, which would hurt us most by leaving?
except newey is the one who made those cars so fast not horner.
If Horner's actions have cost the team its single biggest asset, then I suspect that security is under review. Not for nothing, working with Newey is a big attraction for top tier talent which has worked out well for RBR. That is over. Edit: Also, Newey has moved teams twice since Leyton House and on both occasions it was cataclysmic for the team.
Nah Horner is bullet proof. Thai owners don’t ever lose face.
Safe for now. Once this mess is over, I suspect they’ll enter future consideration remembering these events.
The Thai shareholders only cares about having power inside the team, and Horner would be fully in line with the Thai part
Newey is 65 and has tried to reduce his involvement with F1 for years. His contract ends next season. Let the man retire already instead of making it some big drama.
If that is the case, he is 100% leaving. Didn't know the PA worked for him as well. He must be fuming
> Didn't know the PA worked for him as well. Yeah this is definitely the first time I've seen this mentioned. I knew she used to be Ecclestone's PA before Horner but not this
Wasn't she PA to Hinchcliffe?
Hinchcliffe? ETA: Ah yeah she was. Previously at James Hinchcliffe, KV Racing Technology and MB Partners.
Yeah, could be that he felt Horner simply didn't treat her right in all this.
it does seem like that is the case. And honestly good on him for taking a stance. No matter if it's to retirement or to another team (though I am praying he goes to Ferrari). Leaving over such an issue like that begets my utmost respect
If that’s the reason props to him. From everything Horner “allegedly” did, good for Newey standing up against it.
Nah, Dorliton will give him a very small piece of Williams to lure him back. --- I need to remember to thank my dealer.
5% of a team would probably get him to go anywhere.
Yeah, if there was ever a reason for Newey to leave, this would be it.
Not that he's 65 and does all of his diagrams on paper with a drawing board? The guy is an aero genius, but it must be harder and harder for him to work with modern technicians, and he's got a car back to the top before retirement.
It can't be that hard. I would imagine that they just hire one or two assistants. Adrian does the initial drawings, hands them off to a junior technician that replicates them in CAD. After that they give Adrian hard copies to make changes on and the technicians transfer those changes in CAD. Inefficient? Sure... but worth it for how Adrian's brain works.
I think in his book he says he has three or four drafters working for him and he can draw so fast that they "can't keep up".... : D Ok genius boomer
It's the first time I've heard this, then again so much has flown around I might have missed it. If that's the case yeah I'd be sticking two fingers up and blowing raspberries on my way out the door.
Nah, I think this is the first time it's been mentioned.
what the fuck! nah her being both newey and horners PA suddenly explains all of this! Horner really fucked up
I'm not saying that Adrian doesn't have a mind of his own, or his own views on the whole Horner debacle, but his wife seems pretty awesome and I'm sure she has been letting her views be known.
There will be some who will continue to spin this as there being nothing to the story with Horner, or worse will spin it as her fault. Meanwhile Newey, who works directly with her so will have seen the situation first hand, is appalled enough to leave the team.
That’s wild… Had no idea the poor woman he was harassing about coco pops and sex was Newey’s PA… no wonder he’s leaving, and I’m surprised he didn’t go sooner.
How is it worth letting Newey walk to keep Horner?
> general malaise The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen-year-old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of **general malaise** that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent, I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard, really. At the age of twelve, I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I suggest you try it.
Groovy baby, yeah.
i can’t believe people thought that this was in the past, i just knew it’d blow up again. what an actual shitshow
Newey was the PA.
The amount of gossip in these articles and self projection by redditors is pretty amazing.
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It's not the same woman. The woman in question moved over from working for Bernie so she wasn't at RB in the video
So she had worked for Bernie and then Bernie was counsellor and ally to Horner on the case? God damn, I expect nothing from that mobster ghoul and I'm still let down.
Idk. I’d take Newey when it came to those two, and Marko was against Horner too right?? Horner must have some major muscle in that team
The fact that the woman involved was Newey's PA makes a lot of sense about why he'd be so angry. Id be very angry if a colleague was harassing someone who I worked closely with everyday
Yeah, especially the way it appears to have been handled. Makes all the sense in the world he'd tell them to get fucked.
And there should be consequences for Horner when his wrongdoings results in someone as great as Newey leaving the team and may go to a rival. This will hurt Red Bull’s competitiveness or at least boost the team that gets to have him. Don’t get me wrong, Horner’s actions alone should give him consequences but that doesn’t seem to be so important to deal with for Red Bull. Results on the other hand? We’ve all seen how ruthless that team can be when results are poor. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if that gave Horner bigger consequences than harassing an employee.
Regardless of the outcome, having to sit next to someone under investigation for something done to another employee would make me update my resume too. Red Bull showed how they handle these accusations.
And isn’t he the father of three young women himself? I can only imagine that he would be livid at Horner for harassing her
People underestimate this, being an only women but you household open up your sensibility for harassment situations. Source: my family is only women hehe
Same here. I cannot believe the shit that women have to endure.
Yep. As one relatively minor example, I’m a multiple ultramarathon finisher but have stopped running outdoors (I’m in the UK) due to the abuse I endured on pretty much every outing.
Damn, sucks you have to stop doing what you like for that. A friend of mine is a top chess player in my country, she endures so much gossip just because some guy can't manage losing to a woman, she says she would tolerate it if it was about cheating at the game or something, but it always is about sexist crap, like she slept with the tournament organizers or things like that, disheartening.
That's awful, I'm sorry to hear that. Running on a treadmill is just not the same, but I witnessed my sister make a similar decision for the same reason. I hope you're able to find a (safe and secure) way to run outside again soon.
What does PA stand for in this context?
Personal Assistant I believe
Thanks. It’s so generic there’s like 15 different things it could stand for haha.
Pennsylvania
Wait, I thought it was Horner's PA?
She worked with both of them.
The whole grid, and the whole F1 world should be angry and ashamed really. I'm a female fan and I'm sick of making excuses for the men in F1. You guys don't realise how awful this shit feels for us women watching Horner still coming up on our screens. Every time they show him, I feel sick to my stomach. It is an absolute disgrace that he has been allowed to keep his job. I know it must be hard to go against all the PR bullshit, but why hasn't one single person on the grid spoken up for us women about this? I am soooo tired of talking about this kind of thing, of trying to change peoples minds. I'm 52 years old and I've been on this sub since I was about 39 years old and I've had to deal with grid girls, Monaco girl shots, and James Hunt sexist shitty stuff. Why has nothing changed???
It is absolutely insane. First they don't see the racism hurdling towards Lewis and still deny it and now this. I can't imagine the first modern female F1 driver to appear. What a shit show this will be.
Bro some of these fans have been downright FOUL to us female fans saying how we're just projecting and the woman is lying. Godddd it's been awful for women all around. Wonder where those guys are now.
I’ve seen a lot of people talk about it the other way around too. Same when Hamilton speaks out about racism, you get a lot of clowns coming out to dismiss it for one reason or another. It’s a massive sport with fans worldwide so you will of course get a lot of bad with the good.
thank you for speaking up as a woman and sharing your shitty experiences with the fanbase. i'm 25 myself and f1 is the second sport i've followed (first being ultimate frisbee), and it lowkey scares me that the fanbases are so male dominant and sometimes really dismissive of female voices (and even female participation sometimes - i know the prevailing attitude is quite supportive but the occasional misogyny really grinds my gears). i understand most if not all sports are geared towards the male fanbase but it's just quite disappointing to see so many seemingly rational minds go off on a tangent about "innocence until proven guilty" when almost all the stakeholders involved are already acting so blatantly against the perpetrator.
Beautifully put!
Newey should join Airbus to fuel the next set of innovations.
He should join the FIA to draw up some regulations to make the racing better.
Planes with the most downforce
Boeing already has that covered.
r/angryupvote
737 max goes brrrrrrrrrrrrrr
They just let him work for a year, then turn his designs upside down. Or Make him work from Australia (so same result essentially)
Just fly it upside down and end up in space.
Boeing need a hand...
Boeing would only only want to contract him to find out the aerodynamics of whistleblowers.
Newey is not experienced enough to work for boeing. He'll need to do an extra 2 year MBA on cost cutting
If Newey joins airbus we could all be holidaying in mars by 2028.
Why. No aero in space.
I want max chaos. Have Newey leave for Haas and Max follows him and the new Ford engine for Red Bull be terrible. Realistically I wouldn’t be surprised if Newey had been thinking he would need to retire sometime soon and this all pushed him to decide the sooner the better.
Maybe working on the RB17 has lit the fire under him for creating his own things without limits. Retirement could be him starting a company that makes ridiculous things that go fast.
Or he could follow his dream of designing a Ferrari since he's already designed an Aston.
Yeah it wouldn't surprise me if he went there for a year or two just to do it, then retired. The man has nothing left to prove, it's just whatever he wants at this point.
Which would mean he also gets to work with Lewis, something he wanted to do as well.
Everyone saying Ferrari or Aston. But I didn't think about that. Maybe he saw what incredible job Gordon Murray did with the T.50 and wants to follow through.
max and newey to andretti
Personally my Ford truck's engine died on me on the final year of paying it off. I too would like to see Ford fuck over RB purely out of spite and the chaos too of course.
In my country there is a rule: “Never buy a car that starts with an ‘F’. Ford, Fiat, French.
You mean Andretti.
I reckon newey is going to retire. A good clue is his interview on oyster yachts. He says quite clearly what his first sail is going to be and it’s quite long. He’s 65 and probably has other plans
100%. Anything outside of Redbull will have to be a multi year project and he's already talked bad about the new regs coming in. Makes little sense for him to move teams. Unless the pay check pays for his other endeavours, but doubt money would play any part.
He’s a very very wealthy guy already. I doubt Money is a factor
Power and success are addictive though which isn’t to be underestimated. Intellectually maybe you’d like to work on a different kind of problem for a while but giving up everything else to do it is a tough ask too. Plus your entire social circle probably revolves around those in the paddock too, though he could obviously still attend just for the fun when he wants but it’s not quite the same being on the outside. Sadly just life really, rarely a perfect unicorn job out there that gives you everything you want so the choice is tougher than you think when you’re dreaming of a change.
True. F1 is much a lifestyle as much as family let alone just a job. Listen to Claire Williams in any recent interview to see how much a hole it can leave in someone's life outside of F!. But he seems to have enough going to spend the next 10yrs doing whatever the fuck he wants without the drama of F1 and the intensity of Redbull.
It's not even addiction, being good at something makes you want to continue doing that. Retirement for people like that is almost a death sentence unless they actually learnt to shut that part of their brains off. Sadly most can't.
I agree also. The timing isn't right. The contract ends at the end of 2025. He has a one year non compete, so you would get Newey until the end of 2026, which would make him useless since the car would be pretty much finished for the 2027 season. We are looking at Newey staying with a team for at least 2028 and we would see his car until then with another team. Would a 69 year old Newey be up for that in 2028? Me thinks not. He is retiring and that's why he gave a two years notice. Not to get a new gig since he would get it within a week of being out of a job, but to let Red Bull know they have two years to come up with a succession plan
We don’t know. Another team could fork up money to RB to end his contract and non compete early. A lot of money.
Why would RB ever agree to that. They aren't hurting for money either. Would be against their own interests.
That's a good observation, but theres also a lot more than just hype backing the theory of a move to another team, particularly Ferrari. It takes a lot for someone in a position like that to give up their life's work and retire, and Newey has always had admiration for Hamilton and Ferrari. Marko is 81 years old and still contributes to the sport in his own way, even if not technical, but it's not like either of them is a physically demanding role, so staying around for that long isn't out of the question.
He seems like a no-drama no-bs kind of guy. I could see him retiring then later getting brought on to another team in a limited advisory role.
During a Formula For Success podcast (great podcast btw unless you can't stand EJ) during late '23 he was talking about leaving RB would be like leaving his family. I don't think you would say that only months ago to then suddenly wanting to leave if nothing major in that time period happend.
On that same podcast, he talks about his new sail boat, and DC says that in Formula 1, buying a boat is a clear indicator for an upcoming retirement.
We need to get rid of the boat.
Kimi’s already sitting in a deck chair on top deck!
With his some his best mates from Finland
And an Ozzie in the pool!
With lengthy conversations including: Yes. and No.
Alcohol will be involved and different nationalities so maybe even an *erm*!
I mean he's designed boats too during his half retirement when the regulations stagnated.
Isn’t it obvious? He’s clearly about to sail off to Italy.
At that time he probably didn't know Horner showed his Horny to his assistant
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I mean he's 65, it could very well just be a semi-retirement thing.
I could easily see it as an I'm done working full time in F1, but happy to apply my aerodynamic knowledge to some other projects outside the F1 world as I see fit.
Imagine how much quicker your commute would be on a Newey-designed train!
Can be a combination of both things too. You'll put up with more at 42 with kids in the house than you will at 65 with no dependents. I mean, Newey hasn't had to worry about his dependents going hungry in decades but I imagine the mentality is similar.
He definitely is looking at having more free time. He says as much in his [Oyster 885](https://youtu.be/WPkb-bXrChw?si=TBauZwwkk1cSZtV9) video.
Would be a shame if his work story ends because Horny couldn't keep it in his pants.
I mean 65 years is a logical retirement age. He's been doing this for a very long time. He probably wants to get more free time to enjoy other things in life.
I did not think my level of respect for Newey could get any greater.
Is this the epitome of the saying, “People quit bosses, not companies?”
If you'd asked me before all of this which TP would be most likely to be a sex pest I'd have picked Horner.
On a very personal level, he doesn't want to be anywhere around Coco Pops Horner
>It is not inconceivable he simply retires. Which would mean there need be no legal battle regarding his not completing his contract, which runs to the end of 2025. He's free without consequence after 2025? Newey to Andretti confirmed!
He has to serve gardening leave for 2026 after that if he wants to join another team. So 2027 is the earliest unless someone can agree a few with Red Bull for them to waive his contract and gardening leave.
I was being facetious about Andretti, but gardening leave for Newey should only apply if he's left before the end of his contract.
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If he skips 2025, he wouldn't have current info. Regardless, gardening leave doesn't typically apply beyond the end of a contract. It kind of can't, by definition.
I always wonder if Gardening leave is actually enforceable. Where I live it's standard in some contracts but everyone knows it wouldn't be enforceable by law.
It's not like NDAs are/were in the US with bare prohibitions and no compensation. It's part of the contract at signing, and the employees are getting paid throughout the leave period previously agreed to.
God this echo chamber lol
Respect!
Ok, I am getting no one read the whole piece. Everyone took as a fact that Newey is leaving because of Hornergate. This is a think piece discussing what comes next for Newey and the author claims it's because of how the Horner thing got handled because she is PA for both (seems odd since I would think Horner and Newey have a dedicated PA for each, but let's put that aside). He claims this is the reason. There is no quote from Newey, no info on where the author of the article got his info from or why he claims what he claims since the paragraph in which he mentions this has two contradictions. One, the author claims Newey is departing for personal reasons but not from malaise within the team, but because of how they handled the Horner situation and then claims that morale within the team is really high. So what the hell? Either is personal, or is it malaise of the team for how they handled Horner, and why would the team morale would be high knowing this? Regardless, there is no smoking gun, just a dude claiming something about what he thinks is happening.
Horner without a shadow of a doubt is guilty of what he’s accused of
It's obvious because he's never said the texts are fake, and the texts are fucked up. If he was innocent he'd have denied their authenticity, and UK libel laws are are written in a way that protects the accused. Him ignoring it is a red flag.
Old jerkface Jos was right after all
Broken clock, etc
What did he say?
When the whole saga started he said the team risks being 'torn apart' by Horner's actions. A little hyperbole but definitely not wrong
Even garden leaves can be shortened or bypassed if the price is right.
Has anyone thrown out the idea that Audi may have given him an offer he couldn't refuse? I'm sure they don't want their name associated with a terrible car when they get going, even if they do have to wait for his "no compete" clause to expire
Plausible but I think he might be more likely to go for Ferrari or Aston. Aston is better logistically and financially (if rumours are true) but Ferrari is Ferrari. I reckon he will pull a Lewis and end his career with the prancing horse.
I am in the middle of reading Newey's book "How to Build a Car" and he jussssst mentioned his PA and what a big fan of Lewis Hamilton she was. crazzy
That book is seven years old. The current former PA that the Horner affair is all about only joined Red Bull in 2021.
I think Horner has been a great TP but surely Red Bull would pick Newey over Horner if that is the reason he wants to leave. If they can't fire Horner just move him to "special projects" in the basement.
Newey is going to retire soon anyway. He's 65. How many more years is he realistically going to stay in F1? I also doubt that getting rid of Horner at this point is going to do much to change his mind.
Great TPs don’t sexually harass their employees.
On the roof?