Helmut Marko mocks Toto Wolff as having ‘no confidence’ in Mercedes staff after Adrian Newey’s ‘poaching’ attempt

Toto Wolff had approached Adrian Newey as Mercedes continues to struggle with the new F1 regukations.

Helmut Marko mocks Toto Wolff as having ‘no confidence’ in Mercedes staff after Adrian Newey’s ‘poaching’ attempt

Red Bull special advisor Helmut Marko (L) | Mercedes' team principal Toto Wolff

The Mercedes F1 team has struggled with the new ground-effect F1 regulations. The Silver Arrows undertook a design approach that did not yield the desired results. Team Principal Toto Wolff has highlighted that the team is working to get things back on track, with a major shake-up taking place in the Technical department. However, Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko mentioned that Mercedes tried to get their hands on Adrian Newey.

Aerodynamics genius Adrian Newey is the man credited for Red Bull’s success on the technical side in F1. Newey’s contract with the Austrian team was about to expire at the end of this season. Subsequently, it has been reported that Wolff tried to convince the 64-year-old to jump ship to Brackley. Though, the Red Bull Chief Technical Officer declined the offer from Mercedes and signed a contract extension with Milton Keynes a week after.

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Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko took a dig at his rival for such an attempt. Marko wondered that Toto might have lost faith in his own staff as he tried to hire Newey. He said, “Mr. Wolff may not seem to have the confidence that his own people get a grip on the problems with their car.” It seems that Red Bull is enjoying the struggles over at Brackley.

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Mercedes technical leadership shake-up

f1 united states gp 2017 adrian newey chief technical officer red bull racing and toto wol
Newey has been Mercedes’ target before, as well

A few rounds into the 2023 season, Mercedes has failed to win a single race. The Silver Arrows have acknowledged the need for a major overhaul of the W14 through a string of upgrades. Moreover, the Chief Technical Officer, James Allison, has been brought back to the role of Technical Director at Brackley. On the other hand, the incumbent Technical Director, Mike Elliot, has been swapped as the CTO.

This further highlights the massive problems at Mercedes as the team was forced to call back the person who designed some of the most dominant F1 cars. As such, it is evident that the Silver Arrows are in desperate need of a new direction on the leadership side. Toto Wolff is certainly aware of the situation and hence tried to approach Adrian Newey.

Thus, Dr. Helmut Marko is amused to find Toto Wolff attempting to poach Adrian Newey. However, Adrian has been an integral part of Red Bull for over a decade and has rejected multiple offers during that time. Subsequently, it is no surprise that the aero genius decided to ditch Wolff’s offer in a bid to continue at Milton Keynes,

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