An energy-drink company dominating the world of Formula 1, crushing the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari on its way. At first glance, this seems impossible, right? But what Red Bull has done in this F1 is a testament to what fans can get to witness in sports. Proper financial backing and a conducive environment to succeed is exactly what the company brought about to make this happen. That being said, there was the matter of getting together the final piece of the jigsaw to make the dream happen.
When Red Bull boss Christian Horner brought the aerodynamic maestro Adrian Newey in, it was signaling of intent. They were no longer the party team. On the Talking Bulls podcast, while talking about Adrian Newey’s move to Red Bull, Horner said, “Well, it was a huge moment for the whole team because I think the general consensus was that Red Bull were there to have a good time. It was a whole vibe. I think we were seen as a ‘party team'”
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“What was missing was a clear technical direction. I’d always been a fan of Adrian and his cars going way back to Leyton House times in the late 1980s! And Adrian was the very best that’s ever been in Formula 1, so, it was a question of how could we entice, how could we entice Adrian to join the Red Bull team.”
Be that as it may, according to the man himself, Red Bull has gone on to achieve what they have, independent of Newey’s expertise.
Is Adrian Newey not the man behind Red Bull’s success?
Adrian Newey has a knack for designing record-breaking cars. That being said, if you were to ask Newey whether he’d take any credit for the 2022 season the Bulls have enjoyed, he’d squarely pass the buck.
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David Croft said in Sky F1’s end-of-season review, “I was talking to Adrian Newey last night. Even though it is the winningest most car – and I really hate that phrase, but apparently it’s grammatically correct – Adrian still doesn’t think it’s the strongest car he’s ever engineered or been part of.”
“He still thinks that a lot of the success Red Bull had wasn’t just down to what they did right, it’s what others did wrong.”
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