Adrian Newey has claimed that ‘inexperience’ led to Red Bull’s performance decline last season.
Following his departure from the energy drinks manufacturer, the legendary F1 designer has suggested that a huge factor contributing to the team’s struggles during the 2024 season was a lack of experience within the technical leadership.
Adrian Newey’s association with Red Bull Racing which began in 2006 was marked by unprecedented success, including 13 Constructors’ Championships and multiple Drivers’ Championships secured by stars like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
However, as he prepares to take on a new role at Aston Martin as their managing technical partner starting March 2, 2025, his insights into Red Bull’s performance decline have become increasingly relevant.
In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Newey expressed concerns that warning signs about the RB20’s handling characteristics were overlooked by the team after his departure.
The 66-year old noted that while Verstappen was able to adapt to these challenges, Sergio Perez struggled significantly, leading to a widening performance gap between the two drivers.
This disparity became increasingly pronounced as the season progressed, ultimately affecting both drivers’ ability to compete at their previous levels.
“From what I could see the car was already the ’24 car and through the very last stages of ’23 as well,” said Newey. “I would say, starting to become more difficult to drive.
“And of course that suited Max, he could handle that, if you like. It didn’t suit him, but he could handle it.
“For Checo it couldn’t. So we also started, through ’23, to see more of a difference in performance between the team-mates, Max and Checo.
“That carried into the first part of ’24 but the car was still quick enough to be able to cope with it.”
The decline in Red Bull’s performance during the 2024 season was stark. After starting strong with four wins in the first six races, the team found itself slipping behind rivals like McLaren and Ferrari.
By mid-season, the Milton Keynes based outfit occasionally ranked as the fourth-quickest team on the grid. This shift in competitive dynamics raised questions about internal processes at Red Bull and whether they could rebound in the upcoming seasons.
Newey highlighted that part of the issue stemmed from a lack of urgency in addressing performance problems within the RB20. He observed that as early as late 2023, issues with handling began to emerge but were not adequately addressed by those left in charge after his exit.
“It was something I was starting to become concerned about, but not many other people in the organisation seemed to be very concerned about,” he added.
“And from what I can see from the outside, but I don’t know, the guys at Red Bull, and this is no criticism, but I think they just perhaps through lack of experience kept going in that same direction.
“And the problem became more and more acute, to the point that even Max found it difficult to drive.”
Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Wache acknowledged that certain characteristics of the RB20 were not fully understood until they became glaringly apparent during specific races. For instance, at Monza, where low downforce configurations exposed significant weaknesses in the car’s setup.
“We missed some characteristics of the car,” he said. “I wouldn’t say we didn’t spot it, but it was not highlighting a massive loss of performance previously.
“During the season we saw this type of characteristic which was seen, but not highlighted, as a big issue. But when we reduced the downforce for Monza it really highlighted the problem massively.”
Red Bull’s performance decline was further compounded by external pressures from rival teams that made significant strides in car development. McLaren and Ferrari capitalized on the team’s missteps and started dominating races, leaving Red Bull scrambling to regain its competitive edge.
Wache pointed out that correlation between wind tunnel data and real-world performance began to falter, leading to an increasingly tenuous position in both championships.
“The concept was more or less a philosophy. More and more when you extract performance you start to create some other characteristics,” he added. “These are highlighted at very low downforce, high ride heights, as suddenly the driver cannot drive the car.”
Adrian Newey said the main reason behind Red Bull’s performance decline was that the RB20 was experiencing the symptoms of coming close to the theoretical limits of the current ground-effect rules which are entering their fourth, and final season before a regulation change for 2026 F1.
“A ground effect car, which doesn’t have sealed skirts like the old sliding skirt cars, is always going to be very susceptible to aerodynamic instabilities,” he said. “Because you now start to generate these very low pressures under the floor, but you have all this leakage coming in from the side.
“That creates some, potentially, quite strong losses and problems as you get closer and closer to the ground. But, equally, they’re a good way of creating downforce.
“So you’re always trying to trade downforce versus consistency through it – it’s a difficult problem.”
As Red Bull prepares for the 2025 F1 season without Adrian Newey’s guidance, there are growing concerns about whether they can reclaim their former glory.
The team has undergone considerable upheaval, with key personnel changes impacting its ability to respond effectively to emerging issues with their car’s performance.
Team principal Christian Horner is under pressure to navigate these challenges and restore confidence within both the team and its fanbase.
