Adrian Newey explains Max Verstappen’s frequent Red Bull teammate change, calls Gasly and Albon ‘not quite at that level’

Adrian Newey comments on Red Bull’s famous trait of swapping multiple drivers for a certain seat

Adrian Newey explains Max Verstappen’s frequent Red Bull teammate change, calls Gasly and Albon ‘not quite at that level’

Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, and Alex Albon (via Imago)

Adrian Newey is one of the key figures behind Red Bull winning their sixth constructors’ title this year. He is often hailed as one of the best Formula 1 designers. Newey has also worked at Williams and McLaren in his illustrious career, which has spanned over 40 years.

Whilst appearing on the Beyond The Grid podcast, The designer commented upon Red Bull’s troubles in finding a worthy teammate to Verstappen. Newey commented upon the past few teammates that Max has had and why they don’t seem to fit into the team. He said, “I think Alex [Albon] struggled to come to terms with how quick Max was, as did Pierre Gasly and others examples, so if you’re going to have two teammates where one is exceptional and the other is brilliant but not quite at that level, the other one needs to be somebody who will, at some point, accept that he certainly can’t beat Max, for instance, on pace, you’re going to have to do it in some other way.”

https://youtu.be/WVKDHk7EOKc?si=RjgArSBcA0YyjZFF

Newey suggests that Max Verstappen’s ideal teammate needs to understand that he’s at the team to play as the second fiddle. If this ideal teammate wants to challenge Verstappen, he’ll have to figure out a way to do it himself. These comments explain why Red Bull have been struggling to find a proper teammate to Max, as Newey’s suggested profile is quite a hard find.

FS Video

Do not miss: Former racer Jolyon Palmer strikes down on Sergio Perez for ‘unacceptable’ Japanese GP mistake

Christian Horner says Max Verstappen’s dominance in 2023 is beyond the team’s ‘wildest dreams’

Red Bull and Max Verstappen have had a staggering season. Verstappen has amassed a total of 13 wins this season out of the 16 races while Red Bull have missed out only once on the victory. That takes Red Bull to a total of 15 race wins, Singapore GP being the only one where they’ve lost.

Christian Horner (via Planet F1)
Christian Horner (via Planet F1)

Red Bull’s boss, Christian Horner, has commented on their dominance this season. As reported by RaceFans.net, he said, “We’ve had 13 with Max, two with Checo. To achieve the sixth constructors’ championship is beyond our wildest dreams coming into the season.”

The team reaped their rewards at the Japanese Grand Prix as they were crowned the constructor’s champion for the year. Many anticipate a similar story in 2024, given Red Bull’s gap to their competitors.

In case you missed it: