Otmar Szafnauer Reveals Real Reason Behind Zak Brown & Co’s Revival Against Red Bull

At this point in time, McLaren is legitimately giving Red Bull a run for their money for their constructors’ title. Just 42 points separate Red Bull and McLaren in the fight for the Constructors’ crown. With the Woking team in good momentum, Red Bull’s retaining of the title may not be so simple.

But how did the Zak Brown-led ‘Act’ of this F1 circus come to revive the greatness of this historic team? Especially after their decade-long down period. An ex-F1 ally answers that.

Otmar Szafnauer, former team principal at Force India, Racing Point, and Alpine, stressed that even a single person could turn the fortunes of a team around. Szafnauer is pointing in the direction of Rob Marshall, who was Red Bull’s head of engineering, working closely with Adrian Newey, the alchemist himself. The 59-year-old stated that his input could have turned things around for Zak Brown’s camp.

As quoted by Formula Passion, in an interview with James Allen’s YouTube channel, Szafnauer said, “It is certainly possible that one person can come along and say, ‘This was the secret recipe for Red Bull and you should go in this direction’. When you hear that certain mechanical elements unlock aerodynamic performance and you know what these elements are and how they affect performance, you can direct development there.”

He continued, “I believe that one person can make a difference, especially when there’s a massive rule change. I’m not saying that’s what happened, but I think that in that area you can get not only pure aerodynamic performance but also aerodynamic support performance.” But while this momentum is what may help them, Zak Brown names another key factor that will act as a decider.

Zak Brown names the key factor that will help them win the constructor’s title

Last year, Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominance was at such a summit that his points alone could have won them the constructor’s championship. However, with 8 out of 14 wins going to no Red Bull teams, the days of no competition are over.

For this, Red Bull needs to make a smart decision and look for Sergio Perez’s replacement, ensuring they don’t lose their grip on the constructors’ title. And now, Zak Bown has also stated that Sergio Perez might end up being the deciding factor, meaning he needs to perform for Red Bull to win against McLaren.

“It’s going to be tough,” Brown said in an interview with the BBC, speaking about the prospects for McLaren to win their first title since 1998. “I think it’s going to come down to the last race. There’s not much between the cars. It’s gonna come down to how does Sergio Perez perform? If he can perform as he’s capable of performing, it’s going to be a hard fight. If he continues to perform as he has this year, we have a pretty good chance, because we have two drivers constantly performing at the front.”

Do you think Sergio Perez can prove a weak link in Red Bull’s charge of the title?