Red Bull Racing is a team in distress despite having dominated the F1 tracks for over two years now. The reason is the internal political turmoil brewing in the aftermath of founder Dietrich Mateschitz’s death and team principal Christian Horner’s sexual misconduct case.
Furthermore, in what could be deemed as a first consequence of the unrest, veteran aero wizard Adrian Newey announced his departure earlier this month. With Red Bull believed to be on the brink of a collapse, CEO Oliver Mintzlaff appeared for a rare interview with Bild and reassured fans, saying that the team’s still intact and unity will prevail.
Red Bull CEO Says Team Knows To Build A Car After Adrian Newey’s Exit
Adrian Newey rocked Red Bull Racing’s world as he announced his departure from the team after 20 years of service. The team’s internal political unrest is believed to be the core factor that drew Newey away. And given how RB has won every race in Newey-designed cars, doubts over the team’s uncertain future began to creep in. However, with Bull’s existence being under imminent threat, CEO Oliver Mintzlaff appeared before the media for a rare interview and cleared all doubts to establish that everything was fine within the team. Oliver spoke to Bild and said that losing Newey was such a shame. However, that does not mean the engineering team does not know how to build an F1 car.
Moreover, with the 2026 regulations change upon Red Bull, Oliver Mintzlaff reassured that his team is not naive and can handle major regulation changes even without Adrian Newey. Additionally, the CEO confirmed his vote of confidence in team principal Christian Horner after a major sexual misconduct case blowout. He added that Horner has the team’s best interest in mind and is, in fact, a very good CEO for the drink-based outfit. Oliver Mintzlaff’s sole purpose in the interview was to send a strong message around the paddock. His statements clearly reflected how badly he wanted to show a united front. However, only time will tell if Oliver’s statements, in fact, curb the damage to the team’s image as Adrian Newey’s exit just seems the tip of the collapsing iceberg as it is rumored that more engineers could follow in Newey’s footsteps.
Oliver Mintzlaff Downplays Max Verstappen Exit Rumors
Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff took a strong stand against Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff for his pursuit of Max Verstappen. Firstly, the CEO confirmed that Max wanted the fastest car and that they had everything that the Dutch driver ever needed. The only concern for Max is instability within the team, as he wants things to be quiet behind the curtains.
Secondly, Oliver Mintzlaff rebuked Toto Wolff and advised him to focus on his challenges at Mercedes. “I find that Toto Wolff should concentrate on his own challenges. He has enough of those,”
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