Not Adrian Newey, but Someone Else Responsible for Max Verstappen Dominance, Reveals Red Bull Chief

Formula 1 is the only team sport in the world where two teammates compete to beat each other. It’s the only team sport in the world where thousands of individuals work day and night, week in and week out, to give all the glory to one person. It’s the sport where until recently every entity was relatively unknown except the drivers. Such is the nature of the sport, which is why the drivers always collect the accolades. However, ever so often someone comes along whose talents force the F1 world to appreciate their talents even if they’re not the face of the operation. In Red Bull, that man is Adrian Newey even though the team has Max Verstappen on their payroll! Although the Austrian team’s technical director Pierre Waché tried to change that outlook.

The French engineer has been part of F1, in one way or another, since 2001 and has been part of Red Bull since 2013. He rose through the ranks and is currently the technical director of the team. So when being asked about the team, the French engineer put on his leader’s hat and gave credit to the entire team instead of one person for the incredible dominance and success. He tried to change the general perception of the F1 world which credits Adrian Newey for Verstappen’s dominance.

“Clearly we have a different background. Adrian will be more concentrated on the aerodynamic side and I’m more on the mechanical side. The main people working on the car are some people inside the team, they are working hard on that. Just to make it clear, it’s not the purpose of the technical leader that you are the man doing the concept,” Wache told RacingNews365.

“The technical leader makes some decisions. But plenty of work is done by the team, we don’t have to dismiss the work of the full team and the design. The main performance is coming from them to be honest, not coming from two people,” he concluded.

The technical director of Red Bull Racing gave credit where credit is due. The Frenchman spoke like a true leader and credited his entire team. However, that doesn’t change the opinion of some experts who rate Newey’s influence extremely highly. So much so that Peter Windsor believes Verstappen will follow the British engineer wherever he goes.

Wherever Adrian Newey goes, Max Verstappen will follow

This is the opinion of F1 veteran Adrian Newey, which he expressed in his latest Instagram video while discussing the Dutchman’s future. The same future that has been put in jeopardy after the entire Christian Horner saga.

Windsor believes if Newey is disgusted enough by this scenario and decides to leave, so will Verstappen. Additionally, he believes Verstappen is smart enough to follow Newey wherever he goes.

“To me, all this stuff about Max is completely and utterly related to Adrian Newey. He’s not stupid Max Verstappen and he will only move anywhere if either Adrian is not racing anymore or Adrian’s moved. If Adrian moves, it would be a completely different team anyway.– So the key to this is Adrian, always,” he said.

So it’s Newey who can decide Verstappen’s future? That’s the common understanding even though Wache tried to take the spotlight away from one person and put it on the entire team. However, Newey’s resume speaks for itself, which is why many credit him as well, and Windsor believes Verstappen will follow him.

Read More: Max Verstappen to Replace Lewis Hamilton, While Adrian Newey and Helmut Marko Join Ferrari: F1’s 2024 Silly Season So Far Wrapped Up