Red Bull says Vettel won't leave F1 team because of Newey

Newey announced over the Canadian Grand Prix weekend that his frustrations with the sport's current rules had left him eager to move away from a full-time position in F1.

Instead, he is to take on fresh technology projects for parent company Red Bull while maintaining an advisory role for the Milton Keynes-based team.

But with Newey having designed all of Vettel's championship-winning cars, the change in technical leadership at the outfit has already prompted talk that the four-time champion may think that the team's best years are behind it.

When asked about what impact Newey's move would have on his own future at the team, Vettel said: "Well, I think my contract's still long enough... I'm looking short-term if you ask me about the future right now."

Although some interpreted those comments as a sign that Vettel's long-term commitment could be in doubt, Red Bull boss Christian Horner is convinced that there is no reason for alarm.

"Adrian is taking up a different role, he is not retiring completely from F1," he said.

"He is going to be mentoring and advising the team, and we have a great strength in depth.

"I think it is fantastic we are still going to have Adrian around and access to him, as the group continues to develop.

"It is exciting for Adrian to be involved in other projects as well, so I think the future is extremely bright.

"Sebastian is never going to talk about what the state of his contracts are, but he has enjoyed a huge amount of success with the team.

"And I have got no doubt that he will be with the team for many years to come."

NO NEED TO REPLACE NEWEY

The new Red Bull technical structure should be in place later this year, and Horner has made it clear that there will be no recruitment of a leading technical figure to replace Newey.

"Adrian will be looking at some other projects that we will announce a bit later in the year, but we have tremendous strength and depth in the team and there is no plan to replace Adrian with anybody else," he said.

Newey will also continue leading the design of the team's 2015 car, as well as continuing the push to improve the current RB10.

"Things will kick in from the beginning of next season," said Horner. "This year he is fully focused on F1."