Ralf Schumacher claims Adrian Newey’s Red Bull successor lacks ‘flair’ of the aero genius
Red Bull revealed Pierre Wache would take over the roles and responsibilities of Adrian Newey following his departure.
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Ralf Schumacher and Adrian Newey, images via IMAGO
In the first half of the 2024 season, Red Bull was dealt with a major blow of losing design wizard Adrian Newey from its arsenal. The Austrian giant was caught off guard by this announcement and had to find a suitable candidate to fill the void. Despite the team’s reckoning that technical director Pierre Wache is capable of taking up the reign from Newey, the Ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher remained skeptical and claimed that the Frenchman lacked the Brit’s flair.
Adrian Newey is regarded as the greatest designer of all time. Moreover, with the 65-year-old becoming a free agent, his name was enough for Aston Martin to provide him with an eight-figure cheque. However, his replacement at Red Bull, Pierre Wache, does not have much fame attached to his name, raising eyebrows around the paddock about his ability to perform in the way that his predecessor performed.
Subsequently, Ralf Schumacher revealed that the Frenchman might not be a suitable candidate to replace the outgoing Newey owing to the vast knowledge of the 65-year-old.
I think the team is suffering from some people leaving or wanting to leave, it’s not so easy to replace people like that. I have the feeling, and it may be that this feeling is not correct, that [Wache] is not yet up to the task. He’s certainly a brilliant thinker, but he doesn’t have the flair to do it the way Newey did.
Ralf Schumacher said in an interview with Sport.De
Despite the German’s concerns, Wache has demonstrated his expertise over decades of working in the sport. So, the Milton Keynes-based squad would not be much shaken up by Schumacher’s claims and might dislodge them as nothing but pure speculation.
Max Verstappen asserts his utmost faith in Red Bull
On the other hand, Red Bull runs a major risk of losing Max Verstappen if they are unable to hold their position as the benchmark in F1. With McLaren already outpacing the RB20 and Lando Norris making his fierce charge in the driver’s championship, the Dutchman’s status within Milton Keynes could change soon.
However, the reigning champion has remained loyal to the Austrian giant and insisted that he has the utmost faith in his team.
That was already a good step for us. I do think we are moving in the right direction now, it will take some time. You can’t turn something like this around in one or two weeks. But I do think the team was happy with what they saw in Baku as well. Yes, I do think [the lowest point in Monza is behind us] to be honest. Hopefully we can continue to make good steps from here.
Max Verstappen said in an interview with Motorsport
Verstappen has a 52-point lead over McLaren’s 24-year-old Brit. Moreover, if the Dutchman finishes the remaining Grand Prix and sprint races in the runners-up spot, he could take his fourth consecutive driver’s title, despite being in inferior machinery in the ongoing second half of the year.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(772 Articles Published)