2025 will be the first time Red Bull will start a season without Adrian Newey since their debut F1 season in 2005. It is a vacuum at the Milton Keynes outfit that may never be filled by the best of the technical talents around the paddock. It is not just the design team of the car that will miss the British veteran, but Red Bull will also feel his absence and lack of input while setting up their cars.
On the Pelas Pistas podcast, a panel of experts discussed how Newey’s exit will be “a big loss” to Red Bull. Amid that, AMuS journalist Michael Schmidt highlighted that Newey was brilliant at setting up cars besides weaving the magic on the car’s aerodynamics. “Adrian at least knew how to set up any car, whether it’s a good car or a bad car,” he said.
After 19 years with Red Bull, Adrian Newey will leave the team in 2025! ❌ pic.twitter.com/BFGlPiIjXM
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) May 1, 2024
Schmidt also highlighted how even Helmut Marko admitted Newey’s understanding of the car’s limits and how they could maximize the car’s potential. The 2024 Red Bull car required this input from Newey way more than their previous dominant machinery.
Developing an aggressive RB20 concept, the Briton and his design team had hit a ceiling with the car’s development. So, Newey’s understanding of the car setup was vital to the team’s progress. Naturally, his exit midway through the 2024 season was a massive blow, which caused Red Bull to further slide down the pecking order.
Heading into 2025, the Milton Keynes outfit could continue to struggle with the majority of the RB21 concept likely to be a carryover of its predecessor. This will give teams like McLaren and Ferrari a golden chance to outdevelop Red Bull and solidify their position as the top championship contenders.
Can Red Bull solve its gremlins of 2024?
Clarkson highlighted how Newey’s absence coincided with Sergio Perez’s struggles in the second half of 2024. “His performance dropped in the second half of 2024, coincidentally, that’s the period of time that Adrian’s not been there,” he said.
Clarkson’s point was around Newey’s ability to work well with drivers and help them capitalize on the potential of their cars. This was an astute observation as Perez’s underperformance was a direct factor behind Red Bull slipping down to P3 in the Constructors’ standings.
In 2025, the Austrian outfit will have to develop its car and iron out its issues without Newey’s expertise — which has been the heart of Red Bull’s technical structure. However, given their past reputation of bouncing back from such adversity, rival teams cannot take them lightly.
Marko has hinted at the same while talking about finding solutions to some of the issues they faced with the RB20 in 2024. “Driving over the kerbs was one of our weak points. In the wind tunnel, those problems seem to have been solved, but we will see during the test in Bahrain,” he said in an interview with Sport.de.
In such a scenario, Red Bull may still be a force to reckon with, especially in the hands of Max Verstappen, who would eke out every ounce of performance in that car to retain his world championship.
