Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has reacted to Red Bull’s personnel loss in recent months with clear statements.
The minds, the masterminds behind the success of Red Bull Racing are in demand. Design guru Adrian Newey is moving to Aston Martin next year. Sports director Jonathan Wheatley is moving to Audi/Sauber and chief strategist Will Courtenay is joining McLaren in the future. Additional staff left or could follow suit.
For world champion Max Verstappen, the departures from Red Bull are no surprise, but rather the logical consequence of the success in recent years.
Red Bull is “ripped apart”
“As I’ve always said, I would have preferred it if everyone had stayed, but in the end you can’t stop people,” he said in an interview with “Autosport”. “If you force them to stay even though they don’t really want to be here anymore, if they’re disappointed or don’t get quite what they want, then it might be better for them to take on a new challenge somewhere else,” he said Dutch continue. “Even though it would have been better for the whole team if everything had stayed the way it was.”
Verstappen analyzed that this logic has always been the case with successful teams. “People start picking them apart.”
Such developments can be seen “in every sport,” added the 27-year-old. “And some people get such big offers from other teams that that plays a role too.”
Despite Newey’s high-profile departures, he is optimistic about the future of his team. He explained that he maintains a close relationship with technical director Pierre Wache.
“When I’m at the factory, I always have a meeting with him. He’s very motivated and I like being there. Things are going quite well, but the results are not yet what we want them to be. It’s up to us “To change that as a team.”
Will Red Bull achieve a turnaround?
Over the summer, Red Bull lost the lead in the constructors’ championship to McLaren and is now 41 points behind. Verstappen has been waiting for a win since the race in Barcelona. In the drivers’ standings he still leads Lando Norris with 52 points.
“I trust that people know what they’re doing, they’ve already proven that. Other teams also have very good people, but I don’t think that’s the problem at the moment. We’ve just gone in the wrong direction, “So it was time to hit the reset button and go in a different direction,” said the Red Bull driver.
Ultimately, it’s not just two or three people “who make the difference,” he said. “It’s about the collective. Everyone has to contribute and work well in their role, that’s the most important thing.”
Source: www.sport.de
