First Newey and then Wheatley: Red Bull is falling apart. Now what will Max do?

Two pillars Red Bull

Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley They had been part of the Red Bull team since way back 2006since the dawn of the energy drink company’s ambitious project to enter and win in Formula 1. Over the years, the two Britons have become real mainstays of the teamwith Newey as technical director and Wheatley first as team manager and then as sporting director.

Three months later, both have made their farewell to Red Bull official: Newey on May 1st and Wheatley on August 1st. While the designer has not yet clarified his fate, the DS will join Audi where he will take on the prestigious role of team principal, for which he had already been in the running at Red Bull at the beginning of the year, when there was talk of a possible departure of Christian Horner after the affair relating to the employee’s complaint.

Unwelcome surprises

Just as Adrian Newey’s decision to leave the team was taking place, Jos Verstappen had confided his fear of seeing the team “falling apart“stressing the importance of “keep key people on board.”
In this sense Wheatley’s farewell It took everyone by surprise. And not in a good way. Including Audi, which did not expect Red Bull’s statement with this timing. In May there was talk of Wheatley’s exit, but it was always denied and until yesterday considered off the radar.

A surprise effect that goes hand in hand with the one experienced for the reconfirmation of Sergio Perez, as told by Ralf Bach on F1 Insider: “The Verstappen clan was also surprised. Before leaving Belgium they had been told that Max would have a new teammate in Zandvoort. What then emerged on Monday evening surprised them quite a bit”.

And what does Max do?

Christian Horner has hinted at the desire to enhance internal resources (“This will give us the opportunity to develop other team members“, he explained in a note), announcing a new organizational chart for the coming weeks.
Will it be enough to calm things down after Max’s disappointment with the updates that didn’t bring the RB20 back to the forefront?
Furthermore, the balance of power within the team is not yet so clear.with Helmut Marko who may have regained power after the letter added to his contract. The strange handling of the Perez affair has then generated further whispers about alleged interference in the choice to reconfirm him. Returning to Wheatley, finally, the role – decisive – played by the sporting director in the pressure exerted via radio on Michael Masi in the management of the final laps of the 2021 Abu Dhabi race should not be overlooked. The Briton was a key man in Max’s first world title.
The summer break comes at the right time: it’s time for reflection at Verstappen’s house…