In Formula 1, Adrian Newey has literally dominated the premier motorsport category with his brilliant ideas. Solutions that can not only be described as brilliant but also functional to the cause. Every team he has worked for over the years has been able to benefit from his great cunning ideas combined with the ability to find excellent technical paths. Most of them proved to be technical projects that have made the difference over the rest of the competitors, always providing the ability to be competitive at the top. That’s why the departure from the Milton Keynes team weighs heavily, as for the first time in almost two decades, the Austrian side will have to manage without the contribution of the genius car designer.
Team principal Christian Horner maintains that his recent controversial investigation has nothing to do with Adrian Newey’s departure. Their relationship remains a very good one, according to the British motorsport executive . The truth in these cases will probably come to light in the near future. In the meantime, we can say that Adrian Newey, despite the fact that he still remains attached to Red Bull, will no longer have access to Formula 1 data. His presence at Grand Prix events will be strictly linked to the RB17 Hypercar customers. This, in summary, is the relationship between the parties that as we know will be definitively interrupted next spring. Ferrari is waiting and is ready to strike.
Even geniuses are imperfect at times, if only to remind us that they are human. In this regard, speaking of the British designer, it’s worth mentioning a fact. An issue that has been raised by Adrian Newey himself regarding the endemic characteristics of the Red Bull RB20, a car no longer as dominant as last season but still the benchmark in the first part of the 2024 Formula 1 championship. A reference point in Formula 1 that adopts winning solutions. However, not everything that glitters is gold, as there are distinctive features of the Austrian car of which the Englishman is not proud at all.
Red Bull is therefore an almost perfect car. An F1 machine that in Max Verstappen’s hands is hardly beatable under normal conditions. At the Albert Park circuit in the Australian Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz managed it with Ferrari, but as we know, by lap 4, the Dutchman was already out of the race due to brake system damage. In last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, the world champion was beaten by Lando Norris and, again, the blue racing car suffered a performance loss caused by damage to the undertray, resulting from too aggressive kerb approaching by Max Verstappen. A problem that took away at least two tenths of performance, according to the data collected by the Red Bull technicians.
Back to the present. Adrian Newey doesn’t beat around the bush. The Briton says that in Formula 1, the possibility of improvement is always present. Although the RB20 has been truly competitive in these first six world championship events, at the same time, it has shown not to be perfect. It also did so at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida, where despite the problems suffered during the race mentioned above, the performance of the car was not at its usual peak. Confirmation comes directly from the technician which is now very close to Ferrari, who claims to have already identified several areas where the car should be corrected.
Not surprisingly, the correction involves tire management. In this case, we are talking about the compounds that “reside” on the front end. On the American circuit, especially during the race but generally throughout the entire weekend, the three-time Formula 1 world champion has complained about not having a feel on the front end. While in the qualifying session, the “chemistry” with the Pirelli tires was low regardless, even on the rear. Max Verstappen struggled to hit the correct temperature, that value where the compound develops the most grip. When this level is higher than necessary, the tire tends, in simple terms, to “overinflate” more.
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This factor, in turn, reduces the so-called “patch,” the area of contact with the ground. That’s why it’s very important to know what initial pressure to start with. Red Bull, under these conditions, didn’t hit the optimal working range, leaving a certain amount of grip on the front end. In their case, apparently, maintaining the necessary degrees on the compound remains complicated, with the Pirelli compound consequently not having the required pressure level. This aspect produced understeer on Sunday, although Max Verstappen’s work to stabilize temperatures during the stint worked.
When asked about this, the British engineer replied that it is something that will change later in the year or, more likely, will be modified next year. In short, a problem that Adrian Newey couldn’t explain specifically for logical reasons, but that certainly won’t be solved in the short term with the upcoming developments. It’s obvious that the resolution of this problem will require more time, also due to the constraints imposed by Formula 1 under the budget cap regulation. It remains to be seen if Red Bull will be able to correct this situation which has effectively limited the great potential of the RB20 on several occasions this year.
Regarding the future of Adrian Newey, it begins now: the British designer is leaving Red Bull and will no longer take part in the development of the RB20, the car competing in the 2024 F1 season. The British engineer attended the Miami Grand Prix for the last time as part of the Austrian team’s racing squad, but did not participate in any technical briefings, only in those regarding strategies for the Sprint Race and Sunday’s race.
Certainly, it’s not surprising to see him taking notes on the Ferrari on the grid, observing it closely (as he often does, to be honest, it’s not exactly new) before stepping away from the F1 world for a year. The Maranello team remains at the forefront to secure Adrian Newey’s ideas starting from mid-2025, when his contract with Red Bull will actually expire, and also the gardening period, officially starting on the day of the announcement.
However, not everyone at Red Bull is rowing in the same direction. By now we know, there are two factions: the Austrian one with CEO Oliver Mintzlaff and Helmut Marko on one side, and the Anglo/Thai one, with majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya and Christian Horner, capable of building an almost impenetrable wall, at least seemingly. Adrian Newey was somewhat in the middle, although his messages, purely visual during testing in Bahrain, hinted that he sided with his friend and compatriot embroiled in the sexual scandal he was involved in.
The British engineer wanted to thank everyone in the farewell statement released on May 1st, including obviously Dietrich Mateschitz, who passed away in October 2022, his son Mark, Oliver Mintzlaff, as well as Chalerm Yoovidhya and of course Christian Horner. However, there’s a figure Adrian Newey didn’t want to mention in those lines, namely Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s historic consultant.
Apparently, there’s no love lost between the two, despite starting this adventure at the same time with Christian Horner. The turmoil of recent months and the factions created have thus increased internal division, in which Helmut Marko’s role is no longer recognized by those siding with the team principal, while on the Austrian side of the wall, Mintzlaff continues to support the work of the consultant, a key figure also concerning Max Verstappen’s role, who stated in Jeddah that he couldn’t do without Helmut Mark.
The current Red Bull director himself expressed surprise at Adrian Newey’s upcoming departure, practically going against what Christian Horner has stated in recent days, that Adrian had been negotiating his exit for some time, confirming a total split within the team, but one that currently isn’t affecting the on-track results, despite the slight misstep in the Miami Grand Prix, if we can call it that.
As for Newey’s future after leaving Red Bull, nothing official is known yet. Ferrari is in pole position, as we’ve been telling you for several weeks now, and it seems to be an open secret, although other teams, as expected, have come forward in recent days to at least make contact with the British engineer, who officially wants to take a break as stated to Sky’s microphones during the last race weekend.
Aston Martin had moved to sign Newey, offering a substantial sum, which was rejected. We emphasize once again that the haste to break away from Red Bull would seem completely senseless if one were to decide to quit F1 for good, and this is one of the reasons that continues to push us towards Adrian Newey’s arrival in Maranello in the near future.
Frederic Vasseur during the Miami race weekend limited himself to a “No comment,” preferring to analyze what was seen on the track in Florida. A more than legitimate decision by the Ferrari team principal, who met with Adrian Newey a couple of days before in London. Some words were also uttered by the CEO of the Prancing Horse, Benedetto Vigna, who didn’t want to lean too much on the issue, stating that Adrian also participates in Cavalcade, the event that Ferrari organizes every year for customers worldwide, but beyond that, lips sealed.
Things could drag on, the dream of having the Adrian Newey – Lewis Hamilton duo ready for 2026 is alive for Ferrari fans, who see a future that could turn out to be winning, but there’s still a small step to take before a signature that could change the fortunes of the Prancing Horse team in the coming years in Formula 1.
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Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
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