Two pieces of news have marked the first part of this week. On the one hand, the now much-hyped announcement of Adrian Newey’s move to Aston Martin starting next year and, on the other hand, the confirmation by McLaren that they will try to favor Lando Norris in the world championship chase, even to the detriment of Oscar Piastri.
Two pieces of news that, in some way, are closely linked to Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Newey has been a key figure for the Milton Keynes team, even though in recent seasons he had already reduced his contribution to the design phase, providing more of the basis and advice to work on. On the other hand, the world championship fight is getting closer and closer to the final stages, even though there are still 8 races to go until the end of the championship. The fact that McLaren has decided to focus on team orders is a clear signal that it is time to optimize the car’s performance, without leaving room for errors or internal struggles that could cost the Woking team dearly.
Speaking of Newey’s farewell, clearly the attention of many insiders and fans is more focused on 2026, given that the hand of the British engineer in Aston Martin will be seen more on a project that starts from a blank sheet of paper than on a car already conceived by other minds.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool
On Newey’s move to green, Verstappen spent a few words, underlining how at the moment he has other worries on his mind related to the world championship fight, even if he would have been happy if the designer’s choice had been to stay in Red Bull to continue working together: “It’s not something under my control. At the moment I have other concerns that we are trying to work on and resolve with the team I am driving for. That’s what we are focused on,” explained the Dutchman on the eve of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“Adrian and I have a great connection. I even texted him after the news came out. [del suo passaggio in Aston]although, of course, I knew it was coming. So I’m happy for him. It’s a new challenge, of course. I’ve always said I would have liked him to stay. But, at a certain point, you can’t turn these things around. In the end you’re happy for people who are looking for new challenges. And I also know that Lawrence Stroll is pushing hard to win with Aston Martin, so it’s understandable that he wants to have Adrian alongside him,” Verstappen added.
Many have linked Newey’s departure to the beginning of Red Bull’s difficulties, especially because in terms of timing things have curiously coincided, even if, in reality, Miami was the same weekend in which McLaren brought its most substantial package of technical innovations, while Ferrari and other teams then arrived in the following weeks. Verstappen has stressed how these two aspects are in some way not connected, given that some of the difficulties that have emerged more clearly in recent times, actually have roots in a non-suspect past.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
“Things are not connected. Of course, curiously enough, when his farewell was announced, that’s when things started to go wrong for us, but I think some things had already gone in the wrong direction before, but we hadn’t noticed it at the time,” said Max, whose only goal now is to solve the balance problems and have a faster and more competitive car to play his world championship chances.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but I think in a way Monza was positive because we learned a little bit more about the car. Now it’s just time to improve the car, to understand our weak points. Now it’s just about trying to find solutions. But you don’t get there in one or two weeks.”
“If the balance is like Monza, then we won’t be better in the next races, but I also know that we can do a better job overall and if we have a more balanced car, then we will actually be more competitive. But whether being more competitive is enough for the title, I don’t know.”
The last topic touched on is that of team orders. Clearly in McLaren the time had come to make a decision, because the Grand Prix available are increasingly fewer and the gap from the car remains significant, over sixty points. The performance of the car is in favor of the papaya team, but Norris has not managed to recover many points in the European part of the championship, a sign that something more is needed.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, battling with Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“At the end of the day, it’s obvious that McLaren does what it wants. It’s not my problem. I have my own problems at the moment. So yes, obviously, from Oscar’s point of view [Piastri]he is closer to Lando than Lando is to me in the championship. But it is something they have to deal with,” said Verstappen, noting however that, at the moment, Piastri is closer to Norris than the Briton is to him in the standings. Also for this reason, the three-time world champion is not actually surprised that McLaren has not acted in this direction earlier.
“No, I’m not surprised that we didn’t impose the team orders earlier. I mean, in the end Norris and Piastri were not that far apart in the standings. And also from Piastri’s point of view, he’s a top driver, they both are. I don’t think Piastri is the driver who deserves to be called a second driver.”
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