The RB18 and the RB19 — Red Bull’s 2022 and 2023 challengers — have been absolutely monstrous these past couple of seasons. They’re one of the primary reasons Formula 1 is in its Max Verstappen era of domination. Since the Dutchman joined Red Bull, everyone knew watching him win championships would be inevitable. Yes, it comes down to his sheer talent. But there’s also a common link between every Red Bull car Verstappen has driven and won in. What—or rather, who—is it? The mastermind, Adrian Newey.

Verstappen and Red Bull are undoubtedly a formidable pairing. The thing is, they wouldn’t have been as dominant a force had it not been for the formidable duo that is Verstappen and Newey. Considering how much success Newey has achieved with his team over the past couple of years, you would think the RB18 or the RB19 would’ve been his favorite designs. Well, Newey would beg to differ.

Which car has given Adrian Newey the most satisfaction to design?

To put into perspective just how good Red Bull has been in the past couple of years, there have been 38 races since the start of 2022. Red Bull has won 32 of them. Max Verstappen has won 28—10 of which were consecutive wins in 2023. This season, which has seen Red Bull make history time and again, wouldn’t have been possible if not for how well it adapted to the 2022 regulation changes. If there’s one person any team would want to have on its side when F1 does change rules, it’s Adrian Newey. That’s become a well-known fact. Despite Red Bull’s dominance, Newey likes one car more than his recent Red Bulls.

The Red Bull mastermind was featured on F1’s Beyond The Grid  Podcast. Host Tom Clarkson asked him, “In terms of rules optimization, which of your cars has given you the most satisfaction?” Newey replied, “The ‘98 McLaren because that was the year where we went to the narrower track and the grooved tires. It was my first McLaren.” In the past few months, McLaren, in fact, has become Red Bull’s closest rival. Even though the MCL60 is no match for the RB19, for Newey, the RB19 is no match for the MP4/13. He added, “I started on the first of August, so it was an incredibly compressed design cycle. Maybe there’s a moral in there. Lots of the more successful cars I’ve been involved in have actually started quite late.”

Newey joined McLaren midway through the 1997 season from Williams. The 1998 regulation changes that involved narrower cars and grooved tires were intended to lower cornering speeds. Like always, Newey hit the nail with the changes and gave McLaren its first championship since 1991. Its drivers—Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard—ended the season in first and third place, with Hakkinen winning his first title. McLaren won 9 of 16 races that season, making it one of its most successful, all thanks to Newey.

Read More: How Did Mastermind Adrian Newey Fool McLaren to Join Red Bull?

Although Newey seems devoted to Red Bull since he joined the team in 2006, could he be looking to jump ship back to the team he created his best design with?

Is a second stint for Newey at McLaren on the cards?

When F1 heads into summer break, it’s usually drivers who are the protagonists of the silly season. This time, though, it was Adrian Newey driving all the rumors. How come? In 2018, Zak Brown became the CEO of McLaren. Even though he took over long after Newey left for Red Bull, that didn’t stop them from having a not-so-secret rendezvous after attending Monterey Car Week. Brown posted pictures of the dinner on Twitter (now X). As taken aback as everyone was seeing Newey mingle with the CEO of his old team, that wasn’t the most striking part of the picture.

The most interesting part was that Brown was wearing Newey’s Red Bull cap, and Newey was wearing Brown’s McLaren one. Brown captioned the post, “Great meal with some real legends to wrap up Monterey Car Week! CEO of Ford @JimFarley98, 9-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, and the man in the McLaren cap who knows a thing or two about car design. It’s a good fit, Adrian! He was very thoughtful to get me a cap in return!” Needless to say, this has the rumor mill running on overdrive.

What do you think about the MP4/13? Could Adrian Newey consider moving back to McLaren?

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