Adrian Newey slams Red Bull for not being ‘concerned’ over car struggles in 2023
Aero genius Adrian Newey recalls the point when Red Bull did not address its car struggles seriously during a dominant 2023 campaign.
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Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
Red Bull dominated the start of the ground-effect era in F1. However, the Austrian team suffered a decline due to performance issues last year. Now, aero genius Adrian Newey has revealed that Milton Keynes did not get concerned when these problems originated in 2023.
Max Verstappen had a record-breaking campaign in 2023, with no driver even coming close to match the reigning world champion. However, Adrian Newey pointed out that in the latter half of the season, the car became more difficult to drive. This was handled by Verstappen but his teammate Sergio Perez could not keep up.
Late in 2023, Red Bull’s car became increasingly difficult to drive, a trend that continued into 2024. Max could handle that. It didn’t suit him, but he could handle it, Checo couldn’t.
Adrian Newey told Auto Motor und Sport.
Newey recalled that he rang alarm bells over these issues. The Briton claimed that others in the organization did not seem worried over this development. Subsequently, these issues were carried into 2024. With Adrian Newey announcing his exit from Red Bull in May.
It’s something I was starting to become concerned about, but not many other people in the organisation seemed to be very concerned about it.
Adrian Newey added
Adrian Newey pinpoints reason behind Red Bull’s inaction
The aero genius highlighted that perhaps the lack of experience within the team led to its crew pursuing the same direction despite the car problems. Adrian Newey insisted that he was not criticizing his former team. However, the problems only increased with even Max Verstappen finding it difficult to handle.
From what I can see from the outside, but I don’t know, the guys at Red Bull – this is no criticism – I think they just, perhaps through lack of experience, kept going in that same direction. And the problem became more and more acute to the point that even Max found it difficult to drive.
Adrian Newey explained
By the end of 2024, Verstappen and Red Bull seemed to be at the top of their car balance issues. The Dutch driver had successfully defended the world title yet again. Though, rivals had caught up with Milton Keynes in terms of pure pace. Now, this could present a challenge for the Austrian giant once the 2025 season kicks off.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2367 Articles Published)