Ex-F1 team boss claims the only way to end Max Verstappen’s dominance is to force the retirement of Adrian Newey

Giancarlo Minardi is the former team owner and principal of the Minardi F1 Team which competed in F1 from 1985 to 2005.


Ex-F1 team boss claims the only way to end Max Verstappen’s dominance is to force the retirement of Adrian Newey

Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)

Former F1 team boss Giancarlo Minardi believes the only way to stop Red Bull’s and Max Verstappen‘s dominance is the retirement of Adrian Newey. Newey is the Chief Technical Officer of Red Bull Racing, serving the team since 2006. Newey is the main man behind the design of the nearly perfect RB19. Minardi thinks that Newey is Red Bull’s not-so-secret weapon.

However, Minardi, who brought his team to F1 in 1985, believes Newey’s retirement is highly unlikely. But still, his claim that if Newey were to retire, it would level the playing field, allowing other teams to catch up and challenge Red Bull’s supremacy. As the energy drink would not find a replacement for the legendary car designer so easily.

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In his recent interview reported by Mirror, Minardi highlighted the importance of Adrian Newey to Red Bull. He thinks this dominance of Red Bull in both speed and reliability is unmatched by their rivals. Minardi says there is one position for Red Bull and other support positions for other teams on the grid.

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I do not know what the direct rivals can do in the near future. Perhaps the only solution is to retire Adrian Newey.

The ex-team boss also praised Max Verstappen for his impressive driving and calm approach to races. He also claimed that the only reason Verstappen let Lewis Hamilton take the fastest lap at the Mexican GP was because the team was not expecting a late push from the seven-time World Champion.

Lewis Hamilton taking the fastest lap from Max Verstappen raised eyebrows among F1 pundits and ex-team bosses

Former Championship-winning Williams team manager Peter Windsor was surprised by Hamilton’s sudden turn of speed. At the end of the Mexican GP, the Briton set a time three-tenths higher than that of Verstappen. He also commented, suggesting that the Mercedes driver could have gone faster much earlier in his final stint.

Peter Windsor (via peterwindsor.com)
Lewis set the fastest lap, that would've irritated Max a bit because he always loves to set the fastest lap.

According to the Australian, since 2021, every driver, including Verstappen, has realized that every point matters. That late fastest lap at the Mexican GP left opposite reactions at the Mercedes and Red Bull garage, respectively.

With just three races left this season, Hamilton is going on a second consecutive winless season. The Briton has taken at least one win in his first 15 years in F1, starting from his rookie year in 2007. The F1 calendar moves to Brazil to host the Sao Paulo GP on 3-5 November.

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