Adrian Newey’s exit could not have come at a worst time for Red Bull

Red Bull has found itself in the worst scenario right after Adrian Newey decided to leave Milton Keynes.

Adrian Newey’s exit could not have come at a worst time for Red Bull

Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Aero genius Adrian Newey decided to leave Red Bull in early 2025. However, the 65-year-old is no longer part of the Austrian giant’s F1 operations. Instead, Newey is focused on the completion of the RB17 hypercar. Unfortunately, it seems that the Briton’s exit came at the worst time for Milton Keynes.

Adrian Newey joined Red Bull in its early days in 2005. The aero genius had been instrumental in the success of Williams and McLaren previously. Newey was motivated to build the technical foundation of the Austrian team after it had acquired the Jaguar F1 team at the end of 2004.

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Two decades later, Red Bull has won seven drivers’ titles and six teams’ championships. Adrian Newey undoubtedly played a role in the team’s success including Max Verstappen’s record-breaking 2023 campaign. However, the Austrian team will no longer have Newey’s guidance amidst its current struggles in F1.

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Adrian Newey’s guidance could’ve critical to Red Bull’s turnaround in 2024

Red Bull dominated the start of the ground-effect era in Formula 1. Max Verstappen seemed to be in a league of his own in the past two seasons. However, Ferrari and McLaren are now right behind Milton Keynes with Verstappen losing three races this season. Although, Christian Horner credited this as inevitable convergence on the grid.

Adrian Newey, via IMAGO
Adrian Newey, via IMAGO

It is believed that Red Bull is suffering from simulator issues as the data does not match on-track performance. Max Verstappen had reportedly raised this problem in the past but was downplayed by the engineers. Without Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s technical team will be under pressure to find a quick fix to this issue.

Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache claimed that the team had something to prove after Newey’s exit. However, even Christian Horner would admit that Adrian Newey would’ve been critical in solving such problems. Moreover, if Milton Keynes does not bounce back in time, it could be stuck behind rivals in developing next year’s car.

Max Verstappen has made it clear that its the performance that matters to him. As such, the Dutch driver would not shy away from considering to leave the team if Red Bull fails to perform. However, Pierre Wache and his team are working round-the-clock to bounce back from a string of difficult weekends. Even Max Verstappen has helped the team’s efforts by going back to the simulator before the Canadian GP.

Certainly, Adrian Newey’s exit might be already impacting Red Bull. The Austrian team must improve in over the course of 2024 to prove critics that Newey was not the sole man behind its success. However, it remains to be seen if Milton Keynes can indeed succeed without the aero genius.

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