F1 | Verstappen: “Red Bull without Newey? Nothing dramatic!”

One shot at the rim and one at the barrel. Max Verstappen was aware that the topic of Thursday in Miami would be Adrian Newey’s farewell and, obviously, he was not unprepared, dribbling questions and sending messages with the mastery of a veteran.

“I would have preferred Adrian to stay in the team,” Verstappen immediately underlined, followed by a very detailed list of “buts”. “I know that from the outside, Adrian’s departure may seem like dramatic news, but knowing the structure of the team I think there won’t be anything dramatic.” Verstappen undoubtedly paid homage to Newey’s entire journey, recognizing his unique qualities, but he sent a not so subtle message, namely that over time the contribution of ‘Genius’ in terms of weight has progressively decreased.

“Adrian was incredibly important in the history of Red Bull – explained Max – but over time his role changed a bit, I’m not saying he wasn’t doing anything, but his role evolved. Over the years, many people with great skills have joined the team, strengthening the entire organization chart. Obviously I would have preferred Adrian to stay, he is a very bright, very intelligent person, when you talk to him about the car he is able to imagine himself driving. But I have a lot of confidence in the abilities of our technical group and I believe that even without Adrian it will continue to be very, very strong. They have demonstrated this in recent years with the competitiveness we have achieved.”

Verstappen is as always linear in his vision. “Convince him to stay? If a person like Adrian, who has given so much to this team, tells me that he wants to look for a different challenge, he must be respected. If after so many years at a certain point you say enough, I want to do something else, as I see it that’s fine too. We would have preferred him to stay, but I wrote to him that if he feels it is time to go, it is right for him to do so. There is great respect.”

Obviously Verstappen was asked if there is any news regarding his future, and the answer was the usual (“My future is within Red Bull at the moment”), always leaving a glimmer of light open in the direction of a decision that would be sensational. Then, immediately afterwards, he sent out signs of great confidence towards the team.
“Adrian’s departure might not be so negative in the end – he explained – nothing against Adrian, obviously, but sometimes even in other sports we see that when a space is created in a team, it can become an opportunity to promote young talents. I think there will never be another Adrian, but at the same time it would be boring if everyone was like him.”

Verstappen concluded by answering questions regarding the alleged 150 million offer that Mercedes would have presented to him as a last chance to have him with them.
“Let’s put it this way – replied Max smiling – even if it were really 150 million, it wouldn’t be the financial offer that would influence my choice, I’m already happy with how much I earn today. For me it’s a question of performance, I know myself, if I found myself constantly driving for sixth position in the end I wouldn’t be happy. As far as I’m concerned it’s always a question of performance, everyone knows it and Toto knows it too.”