Failing to Sign Red Bull’s Mastermind, Toto Wolff Settles for a Key Figure From the Austrian Team to Overturn Mercedes Fortunes

With what Red Bull has achieved in the last year and a half, Adrian Newey has become one of the hottest properties in F1. Even before that, his exploits during Sebastian Vettel‘s era of dominance proved his worth. But delivering 17 race wins in a season surely gets your stakes up. So high that even the likes of mighty Mercedes plotted a plan to poach him. While that did not happen, they were able to get another Red Bull stalwart on board. One that team boss Toto Wolff is mighty pleased with.

Just recently, Newey was about to run out of his contract with Red Bull. Many, including former F1 driver-turned-expert Damon Hill, speculated that he might jump ship. Some rumors suggested that he might call it quits altogether. However, the Austrian team got into action and agreed on a contract extension with the engineer extraordinaire. Later, they revealed how Toto Wolff tried to sign him but failed.

Toto Wolff happy with the work former Red Bull key figure is putting in at Mercedes

Jayne Poole worked in the capacity of a COO at Red Bull for 10 years. Her contributions to the team’s success put a spotlight on her that other teams noticed as well. Those included Mercedes. Toto anyways shared a good camaraderie with her and convinced her to jump ship a few months back. That is a decision he does not have any regrets about.

Motorsport-Total recently quoted Wolff as saying, “She worked for the competitor but you can respect people who work for a competitor and recognize their performance. Her role at Red Bull has been a very big part of the team’s success over the past few years, I think.” [Translated using Google]

“This relationship came to an end, like many relationships come to a natural end. I’ve wanted to hire Jayne for a long time, but it was just never an option. And then the time has come,” he added. “She’s a great addition. She’s got a lot of expertise, she’s a great psychologist, she’s seen another organization, she knows pretty much everyone, and she’s done forensic profiles of all the good people in F1. Having your eyes is a very, very powerful asset to the organization.”

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Despite signing Poole, Mercedes’ struggles remain where they have since the last season. The team needs something no short of a miracle to overcome the deficit with Red Bull. Signing Newey would have been a step in that direction. But the failure to do that has made them a subject of mocking at the hands of Helmut Marko.

Helmut Marko mocks Wolff after the failed attempt to sign Adrian Newey

FIA introduced the ground-effect regulations last year to level the playing field among the teams. However, it turned out to serve the opposite purpose as Red Bull practically ran away with both championships in the most dominant fashion this sport has ever seen. That run has continued unabated in 2023 as all 5 races have gone in their kitty. Mercedes, on the other hand, is nowhere near challenging them for that top step of the podium. The final hail mary attempt was to get Newey on board.

Reacting to Toto’s failure to lure the aerodynamic genius away from his team, Helmut Marko told F1 Insider, “Mr. Wolff may not seem to have complete confidence have his own people fix the problems with their car.” 

Given the fact that many of Mercedes’ top engineers have left the team in the last year or two, one cannot blame Toto if Marko’s assessment does turn out to be true.

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Meanwhile, they have a new set of upgrades lined up for the race in Monaco next weekend. The Austrian manager will desperately hope it pays off. Otherwise, they are once again in for another very long season.