© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Max Verstappen gives his first comments on Adrian Newey’s departure from Red Bull, and says it “might not always be a negative”.
Red Bull announced yesterday that their Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey will leave in early 2025, after 19 years with the team.
Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was asked to give his thoughts on this situation.
“Nothing really changes in the day-to-day operation, Adrian has been incredibly important from the start, and then the roles shifted a little bit,” the Dutch driver said.
“You have to evolve as a team, and as a person as well, and of course I would have preferred him to stay, but I also know that we have incredible quality in the technical team – that’s what they’ve shown already in the last few years.
“So I saw that he is leaving, but we also trust our qualities. My future is still the same.”
Verstappen also revealed he did to attempt to persuade Newey to stay with the team.
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“I don’t need to convince anyone [to stay], because, at the end of the day, I don’t need to convince anyone, and if someone wants to really leave, then they should leave.
“That’s also what I wrote to him. It’s not like we don’t talk anymore, but if you think that is the right decision for yourself and your family, or you seek a different challenge, you have to do it.
“Formula 1 is a shark tank and everyone thinks about themselves at the end of the day, I know that, I am not stupid.”
In the end, Max said Newey’s departure might not ultimately be a negative for the team.
“I cannot speak for everyone else at the moment, and who knows, maybe with Adrian leaving it might not always be a negative.
“And this is not something bad with Adrian, but you see that in a lot of different companies and sports, when somebody has been part of the team and suddenly this person leaves, it is not always a negative thing.
“Maybe it promotes young talent through because there will never be another Adrian, but that is fine because it would be quite boring if everyone was like Adrian.
“It is very important to appreciate what he has done for the team, but also for us, it is very important to just work with the people that we have available – and they are very good at what they do.
“But I also trust that the technical team outside of Adrian is very, very strong, and have shown for the previous few years how competitive the car is.
“From the outside, it looks very dramatic, but I think if you actually know what is happening inside the team, it is not as dramatic as it seems.
“People in the press are making a lot of things up at the moment because they don’t understand how the roles are within the team,” Verstappen concluded.
