Helmut Marko has confirmed Adrian Newey has signed an extended contract with Red Bull, adding his long-term hope that he will “retire” with the team.

Newey was signed by Red Bull when they entered the sport back in 2005, joining a year later after they took over the midfield Jaguar outfit, with Newey having left the front-running McLaren team at the time.

He has since led the design of all of their title-winning cars up to this point, with 11 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in total, including winning both titles last year and setting new records in the process with the RB18.

Chief technical officer Newey had entered the final year of his current deal in 2023, but Red Bull acted quickly to secure his services beyond the end of the season, with widespread reports earlier in the week that he had penned a contract extension.

The team did not comment on the speculation, but Red Bull motorsport advisor Marko confirmed the news that their design chief will be sticking around with the Milton Keynes-based squad.

“The contract extension with Adrian Newey shows that we continue to build on continuity and that there is an extremely pleasant working atmosphere here,” Marko told German publication Auto Bild.

“Adrian has been with us for 17 years and although it is not a contract for life, he has always received attractive offers from the competition and will continue to do so.

“I hope and am sure that he will retire with us.”

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Signing Newey to a longer deal had seemed to be a formality from the outside, and while it is a massive team effort, it is hard to understate just how important he has been on Red Bull’s journey throughout Formula 1.

Having that longer-term security in place for Red Bull, albeit without confirming exactly how long his deal was for, is crucial as they look to maintain their advantage at the front of the field, as well as hold off the advances of other teams.

What Newey has achieved in the sport is pretty much unparalleled on an individual level, with his titles spanning multiple decades and regulation sets from his time with Williams and McLaren through to Red Bull, making his knowledge a massive commodity in the sport.

With ground effect aerodynamics having been the subject of his university thesis too, Red Bull have the perfect person in place to understand the current generation of Formula 1 cars, and their advantage at the front of the field would suggest his expertise, along with his team alongside him at Red Bull, means they currently have a formidable combination in place.

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