Red Bull Racing mastermind Adrian Newey tempers 2023 expectations

December 5, 2022

Adrian Newey

Because of Max Verstappen’s success, almost half of the Netherlands knows Red Bull Racing team members. At the local bakery, ask a stranger next to you who Verstappen’s race engineer is and you’ll soon hear “GP, Gianpiero Lambiase. Adrian Newey has also become a familiar name in the Netherlands. The British Formula One engineer has been the “Chief Technical Officer” at Red Bull Racing since 2006 and is considered one of the best designers in Formula One. He has won more championships than any other designer. So when Adrian says something, you listen.

Steep learning curve

In Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, the Englishman looks back on last season and also ahead to the next F1 season. About the 2022 season – the first under the new technical regulations – he says: “It’s a steep learning curve for all of us. Last year’s cars were the product of a long development process. I have to admit that when working on these cars I had to change my mind. The chassis and front wing move in a very narrow framework, but then there are areas of surprising freedom. For example, the sidepods and the floor of the car. The different sidepod shapes are also easy for fans to distinguish. That’s a good thing.”

Mercedes big surprise

Although Mercedes started the 2022 season dramatically, Hamilton and Russell still ended up on the podium seventeen times. In the second half of the season, the car was greatly improved and the zeropod concept of the Mercedes W13 surprised Newey. “The Mercedes was a real surprise. We had overlooked that loophole in the regulations. It is difficult to judge from the outside. The Mercedes got better and better over the course of the year.

“Frankly, we don’t have the time to look at the concept in detail. Under the budget cap, you can’t afford that luxury anymore. That’s why you first go down the paths that you think will pay off the most.”

Formula One 2023 season

Or Red Bull next season will also be supreme again, the designer does not dare to say: “We are going to develop our concept, because we know it best. But I don’t dare say whether our way is the best way. It is quite possible that another team will come up with a better idea. We all don’t know yet what we will encounter in the further development of our own concepts. Perhaps another has much more development potential.”