Mar.28 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko admits Red Bull is already “missing” Adrian Newey.
Newey joined Red Bull almost twenty years ago, with his success only further cementing his reputation as arguably the greatest Formula 1 designer of all time.
But amid Red Bull’s internal and ongoing chaos last year, he decided to switch to Aston Martin.
“Of course we’re missing a man like that,” team advisor Marko told Osterreich newspaper. “Adrian Newey is Adrian Newey.
“But we’re a team of almost 1000 people. The team behind him was built up gradually.”
Currently, however, Red Bull appears to be in tatters, with only Max Verstappen able to drive the 2025 machine. The now-demoted Liam Lawson was basically the slowest driver overall in Shanghai.
Red Bull is now taking plenty of heat for ousting the New Zealander after just two races. When asked how he’s feeling this week, Marko admitted to Osterreich newspaper: “Things have been better.”
And when asked if anyone should bet on Verstappen winning a fifth consecutive title this year, he also acknowledged: “Well, our car would have to perform better.”
Upgrades are expected to be on the car at Suzuka, where Yuki Tsunoda will be Verstappen’s new teammate, but Marko cautioned: “Yes, but they have to work first, and that won’t happen overnight.”
One perception of the current situation is that the late 2022 death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz set in motion the current management chaos.
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher said: “As much as I respect Helmut, two races alongside Max Verstappen is simply not enough with the ‘Bock’ – that’s what I’m calling that car.
“Marko is now coming under a bit of pressure internally again,” added Schumacher, who also told Sky Deutschland that he isn’t sure team boss Christian Horner can survive the current situation at all.
“With this whole headless bunch, fire-fighting is the order of every day,” he said. “When you consider where Red Bull was and where they are now, I wouldn’t want to know what Dietrich Mateschitz would have said about it.
“I think things simply are not working there right now. In my opinion, Horner backed the wrong horses, lost the best people, and this is the result now.”
Verstappen, however, was present for the emergency driver and technical meeting at Milton-Keynes on Thursday, demonstrating that he hasn’t yet given up on Red Bull.
“The meeting was primarily about Max sitting down with the engineers and going over the next steps,” Marko said. “It should allow us to calmly address Max’s wishes and criticisms.”
As for the controversial decision to axe Lawson, Robert Doornbos – whose own career at Red Bull Racing lasted only three races – insists it’s just “part of the game”.
“It’s hard to come to terms with it, but ultimately it was a sporting decision that had to be made,” he said. “Red Bull still gives him wings to develop his F1 career in the junior team.”
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