Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey has helped design arguably one of the most dominant cars in F1 history this season, the RB19. The RB19 has helped Max Verstappen win his third championship this season and register a total of 17 wins this year following his latest victory at the Sao Paulo GP. Despite producing a massively quick car, Newey has revealed that he has just spent 50% of his time designing it.
Just 50% of his efforts have resulted in Red Bull winning a staggering 19 of the 20 races so far. Moreover, despite winning his 25th championship as a designer, Newey has now revealed that his contribution has been much less than before. In a recent interview, the 64-year-old credited his team for the efforts they put in.
When asked how much of his time he spent designing the RB19, Newey told the Telegraph (as quoted by racingnews365.com), “It’s difficult to say exactly but I would say roughly 50 percent. I suppose I’m a bit of a maverick. I’ve managed to get to a situation now where it [the F1 engineering team] can operate procedurally without me, which allows me to be spoilt enough to be able to get involved in any area I feel like“.
Since the team is now capable of operating without Newey, it gives the 64-year-old the time to take on some of his personal projects. One project that the Briton has taken on is to design a submarine, an assignment that the late Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateshitz commissioned before his death.
Adrian Newey is now helping to fulfill Dietrich Mateshitz’s wishes
In the same interview with the Telegraph, Adrian Newey revealed how it is a shame that Dietrich Mateshitz will not get the opportunity to see the submarine. After stating the same, the Briton explained that he is a “bit nervous” about the project because of the recent implosion of the Titanic.
“But we’re quite rightly doing it in partnership with submarine experts. We’re not targeting sea depths,” he explained. Newey is only able to take on other such projects because of how strong the RB19 has been despite all the challenges Red Bull faced this season.
Coming into the 2023 campaign, Red Bull was penalized with a 10% reduction in wind tunnel time after they exceeded the cost cap in the 2021 campaign. Despite the penalty, it has not stopped Red Bull from winning all the races this season, barring one.
