No plans for Red Bull F1 technical director after Newey move

Newey agreed a new long-term deal to stay at Red Bull earlier this season but as part of that agreement his involvement in the F1 team will be reduced.

He will continue to work as chief technical officer, with the existing department heads forming the strata below him in Red Bull's structure negating the need for a day-to- day technical director.

"We are not going to appoint a technical director, we don't need one," Horner told AUTOSPORT.

"Adrian is still going to be very much involved in helping to set a direction. "But it's an opportunity where people beneath Adrian are going to step up and take more responsibility.

"With [chief designer] Rob Marshall, [head of aerodynamics] Dan Fallows and [chief engineer] Paul Monaghan, we have got a very strong technical group."

Newey has previously stressed the desire to ensure that Red Bull continued to operate at a high level whenever he did take a step back or even leave the team.

Horner believes that the 55-year-old's move into a modified role, which will take effect at the end of the season, has been prepared for.

"Adrian has never made any secret of the fact that at some point he was going to step back a bit," said Horner.

"He's reached that point now and we have put a structure in place to accommodate that, yet still benefit from his involvement. So it is the best situation for everyone.

"We have a great situation where Adrian is not going to disappear completely and a percentage of his time will still be involved in F1.

"But it's a great chance for the strength of depth we have in the team beneath Adrian to stand up."