Adrian Newey Chose to Follow His Instincts Even After Mercedes Showed Competitive Pace in 2022

Mercedes had a significant improvement in performance in the 2022 season after they came up with the concept of zero-side pods. Even though the Silver Arrows became much more competitive as a result of the same, Red Bull’s aero God, Adrian Newey, decided not to pay too much heed to it. The 64-year-old was extremely confident that his design would help the Milton Keynes outfit extend their domination even into the 2023 season.

While Newey definitely made the right decision to stick to his instincts, Mercedes’ zero-side pods concept did help them significantly in 2022. After a disastrous start to that year’s campaign, George Russell helped the Silver Arrows clinch a fantastic victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix towards the end of that season.

Even though the concept of zero-side pods had the massive disadvantage of porpoising, it did provide a significant increase in pace. While Newey acknowledged that he considered Mercedes’ approach an option at one point, he was confident that it was better for Red Bull to stick to his concept.

Newey’s decision has certainly helped Red Bull receive the benefits

Adrian Newey’s decision to stick to his concept of the car has undoubtedly helped Red Bull significantly, as the Milton Keynes outfit have dominated the 2023 season. The team has won all 16 races, barring one. The secret to the team’s success has been Newey’s design of the car.

Speaking of the same, the 64-year-old said in a recent interview with F1’s official website (as quoted by racefans.net), “Obviously with last year’s car, we took an aerodynamic direction with the side pod and design and the concept of the car, which was almost polar opposite to what Mercedes did“. Newey then added how he believes that the Silver Arrows’ design definitely had some benefits as they ended up winning the Brazilian Grand Prix.

However, he believed it was better for him to stick to his own design as he was confident that he could extract more performance heading into this campaign. “Gut feel was, let’s stick with what we’re doing,” explained Newey. The Red Bull aero god then added that what helped his side produce a better car than Ferrari last season was that they got the fundamentals of the car right.

“So when [RB]18 first came out in Bahrain last year, Ferrari was certainly as quick, if not quicker, in the early season. We managed to get the fundamentals right and that gave us a good development platform,” he explained. Newey’s concept has definitely paid dividends, as Red Bull’s dominance was not just limited to one season.

Adrian Newey has produced one of F1’s most dominant cars

Even though Adrian Newey is arguably one of the best aerodynamicists of all time in F1, perhaps even he has not produced a car as dominant as this year’s RB19. While Red Bull have already won their sixth Constructors’ Championship following Max Verstappen’s victory at Suzuka last weekend, the team has also registered some spectacular records this year.

Red Bull shattered McLaren’s record of 11 wins in a row from three decades ago by winning 15 consecutive races (one last season) this year. Max Verstappen won 13 of these races (one last season) while Sergio Perez won two.

At one point in the campaign, it also seemed that the Milton Keynes outfit could go unbeaten because of how they have dominated this year. However, their continuous dominance came to an end in Singapore as Carlos Sainz became the first non-Red Bull driver to win a race this season.

Another reason why Red Bull’s car has been outstanding is because of how quickly McLaren have reaped the benefits by modeling their car around the Milton Keynes outfit. From being in a precarious position in the first half of the 2023 season, the Woking-based outfit are now consistently fighting for podiums.