Red Bull Racing’s unwavering dominance in F1 lasted only two seasons as the defending constructors champions are being fiercely chased by McLaren, Ferrari and even Mercedes, who, in fact, started the season in mid-field. The RB20 is not remotely similar to the RB19, which fetched 22 victories for the team in 2023.
On top of that, Red Bull’s aerodynamics head, Adrian Newey, announced his abrupt departure earlier this year. His exit raised a lot of speculations about growing indifferences with the engineering team and a recent report from Formu1a Uno subtly confirms Newey’s lack of involvement in RB20 development.
Pierre Wache Overrode Adrian Newey’s Inputs In RB20 Development
Adrian Newey is by far one of the most respected and acclaimed names in motorsports engineering. He has a collective designing experience of 40 years, out of which two decades he served for Red Bull Racing. However, at the Miami Grand Prix this year, Newey announced his premature exit, citing personal reasons. However, eagle-eyed fans were quick to connect the dots of an internal feud potentially fuelling Newey’s abrupt departure. Amid the political tensions boiling in the aftermath of Christian Horner’s sexual abuse case, Newey and other senior members of the team reportedly grew apart. A certain fraction of the team wanted Horner gone. But the Thai majority owners had the team’s principal’s back. Moreover, if Formu1a Uno’s recent report is to be believed, Newey wasn’t treated right either.
The report mentions that Pierre Wache, chief technical director of Red Bull Racing, consciously ignored Adrian Newey’s inputs during RB20 development. Newey opposed Wache’s idea of changing the aero mechanical compromise to increase performance again in low-speed corners whilst not sacrificing lap time on high-speed chicanes. Additionally, Wache led the engineering team to overrode Newey’s suggestion of not introducing shark inlets on the side of the halo for cooling purposes. This report clearly mentions that Adrian Newey was actively sidelined from RB20 development, and after the departure announcement, the 65-year-old has been moved away from F1 responsibilities completely. His only job is to wrap up the RB17 hypercar project before leaving the team in the first half of the 2025 season. But it seems RB is paying the price of not listening to Newey as it continues to witness a steep decline.
Astons, McLaren Frontrunners To Secure Red Bull Aero Wizard
Meanwhile, in a major development, Red Bull Racing’s outgoing aerodynamics wizard Adrian Newey has reportedly shortlisted Aston Martin and McLaren as his potential future destination. After serving for two decades, Newey will bid farewell to Red Bull following the first quarter of the 2025 season and become a free agent.
While Ferrari’s bid was considered the strongest, some indifferences have been reported over Newey’s salary demands. Meanwhile, Lawrence Stroll of Aston Martin is ready to offer a blank cheque to Adrian Newey. Zak Brown is also hustling equally to lure Newey. However, a final decision lies on Newey, and the 65-year-old will take his time to reach a consensus after consulting with his team.
Stay tuned with Sports News International for more such updates about your favorite F1 team.