Red Bull will miss Adrian Newey as long as the “others” follow, but Jonathan Wheatley is already being courted through an “Italian team” that “just won” a Grand Prix.
Red Bull announced last week that it would bid farewell to design guru Newey in the first quarter of 2025, with the 65-year-old already withdrawing from the team’s Formula 1 project.
Instead, the noted designer will spend his final months at Red Bull focusing on the RB17 hypercar, with Christian Horner confirming he no longer needs Red Bull’s F1 data.
But while Red Bull’s motorsport adviser Helmut Marko called it a “big loss”, Horner said Red Bull’s design arm is much more than Adrian Newey.
“Our key pillars are in position for the future,” he said in Miami. “I think the design that we have in position, that Adrian has helped and shaped the whole thing that it is now.
“We are well placed to take over and continue to produce cars as we have. “
Van der Grint told the Briton that wasting Newey is not a “big blow” for Red Bull, but it depends on Red Bull’s ability to retain the rest of the team.
“I have to criticise Horner a little bit, because I don’t think it’s a big blow to the team,” the former Bridgestone engineer-turned-expert told Viaplay’s Slipstream.
“Look, if only Newey goes, they’re going to take care of it. If others follow him, he’s a danger. “
“But if they can keep the rest in combination and just have to move on without Newey, then it’s not as dramatic as other people think. “
“But,” he reiterated, “the others will have to stay. “
However, his colleague Allard Kalff believes Red Bull will miss Newey in January, when teams will be allowed to start painting their 2026 cars, which will be designed according to the new regulations.
“What’s missing from Newey is that when new regulations are introduced, it’s someone who sets the direction from the top,” Kalff said.
“It’s smart to go into design and say, ‘This is how you deserve to design it. ‘He will be missed there. Otherwise, they’ll probably do well. “
“But,” he warned, “if one sheep crosses the prey, others will follow.
“If your competition needs to destroy a team like that, you have to buy a lot of people. And now that’s the big danger. “
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Jonathan Wheatley, Red Bull’s long-time sporting director, could be next in the Miami paddock, according to rumours.
PlanetF1. com understands, however, that the Briton is negotiating a renewal with Red Bull.
However, according to Kalff, even in the midst of this process, Wheatley approached through “two teams” with the intention of jumping ship.
“They are also in the process of extending Wheatley’s contract,” he said. “I know you’ve already received offers from two groups: an Italian team and a team that has just won a Grand Prix.
“After all, he was the one who did the pit stops so well. And he built this team from the ground up.
He believes the budget cap, which exempts only the three most sensible players on a team, could help the team retain Wheatley.
“The big merit of Red Bull is the budget cap,” he explained.
“Look, because you can rent like Newey and pay him a fortune. This exceeds the budget limit. But other people like Wheatley and maybe others are part of it.
“Then you have to shoot again, because you can’t spend too much money. In this sense, the budget cap is Red Bull’s friend.
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