Adrian Newey points to a “lack of experience” that led to Red Bull’s slump in form
Adrian Newey, suggested that a « lack of experience » within Red Bull led to their drop in form last year.
After winning seven of the first ten races, Red Bull won only two of the next fourteen.
The driving of Max Verstappen allowed them to secure a new drivers’ title, but the team fell behind McLaren and Ferrari in the battle for the constructors’ championship.
Read also: Why Red Bull remains skeptical about its development tools in F1?
A lack of performance at the end of the season
Red Bull’s performance dropped, with the RB20 becoming extremely difficult to drive. Even Max Verstappen couldn’t salvage a great result, finishing in a distant sixth place at the Italian Grand Prix.
A similar scenario occurred in Baku, where the Dutchman finished fifth, a result that should have been a seventh place without a collision between Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz. Red Bull was able to resolve some of its problems, but McLaren and Ferrari often had the edge in terms of pure performance.
In an interview with the German media AMuS, Adrian Newey admitted he was concerned about the direction Red Bull was taking, a concern not shared by everyone within the team. Obviously, part of this comes from the fact that McLaren and Ferrari have developed their cars and have done an excellent job.
« What I observed is that the 2024 car, and even in the very last stages of 2023, was already becoming more difficult to drive. Max could handle it, it didn’t suit him, but he could adapt to it. Checo, on the other hand, couldn’t. We started to see a larger performance gap between the two teammates, Max and Checo », explained Adrian Newey.
« This continued at the beginning of 2024, but the car was still fast enough for it to get by. This was something that was starting to worry me, but few people in the organization seemed to care. »
« From what I can see from the outside, but I’m not sure, the guys at Red Bull, and this is not a criticism, may have, due to lack of experience, continued in this direction. The problem has become more and more acute, to the point that even Max had trouble driving the car. »
A new chapter at Aston Martin
In March, Adrian Newey will start working with his new team, Aston Martin.
At 66, he will take on the role of managing technical partner, leading Aston Martin’s efforts in F1 with a focus on 2026.
The team owner, Lawrence Stroll, hopes that Adrian Newey’s arrival is the missing piece of the puzzle.
Lawrence Stroll also appointed former Mercedes engine chief, Andy Cowell, as team principal for the new season. Enrico Cardille, coming from Ferrari, has also joined the team to strengthen their technical structure.
