Adrian Newey is betrothed – complete with an agreement found and signed – to Aston Martin Racing, but the projection made of the same substance dreams are made of continues to float in the corridors of Milton Keynes, especially since the RB20 is no longer the reference single-seater of the world champion Circus.
It is no coincidence that Helmut Marko, consultant for Red Bull Racing, spoke on ORF, the Austrian television station, to take stock of what the brilliant designer from Stratford-upon-Avon took away from Milton Keynes.
“When you win – and we have won in the last three years, dominating in 2023 – obviously the employees are coveted by other teams. It’s a usual game in Formula 1. What leaves me a little perplexed are the figures that are offered. We are always struggling with cost constraints. And these employees often receive double or even higher offers.”
“That means we couldn’t keep some of them. Newey was with us for 17 years, Wheatley for 19. They were part of the team, the group and the company. They were part of the team, of our success. This hurts, but if they leave for financial reasons, for career reasons, because you can’t keep up with the offers, then that’s the way things are.”
Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of Red Bull
Photo by: Gareth Bumstead / Motorsport Images
“And of course: With the death of Dietrich Mateschitz a certain change occurred. He was de facto the only leader. He made quick decisions. He was a charismatic entrepreneur who also had a lot of foresight and was willing to take risks with the racing team. And all this, of course, now… The company and everything else has to be set up differently, because you can’t find another such individual and he can’t be replaced by just one person this can be part of the change … I believe this was the main reason for Newey’s decision to seek a new challenge.”
In addition to the death of Mateschitz, a true point of reference for Red Bull Racing until his death, Newey would also have been affected by the “Horner Affair”, which broke out at the beginning of the year and was influential despite having had no consequences for the current team principal of Red Bull.
“Let’s put it this way: the Horner affair didn’t help,” Marko continued. “But internally we sat down and said we need to join forces, work together in all areas to bring home this world championship and also have a winning car for the future.”
“Because one thing is clear: if we don’t provide Max Verstappen with a car with which he can win in the long term, all the best drivers’ contracts have performance-related exit clauses, and Max will surely see his future where he is offered the better package. As long as he still enjoys it. There is another factor that has come into play…”.
#Marko #Mateschitzs #death #Neweys #departure