Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen flash smiles for the cameras during the 2022 United States Grand Prix, reminiscing about happier moments.
With Adrian Newey heading for the Red Bull exit door and already finished on the Formula 1 side of things, Max Verstappen will leave a Red Bull team destined to “disappear into mediocrity”.
Ralf Schumacher, a six-time F1 race winner, disputes the notion that Adrian Newey will be the sole prominent figure to leave Red Bull, the reigning powerhouse in Formula 1.
‘Max Verstappen will leave the team’, so says Ralf Schumacher
Newey and Red Bull officially confirmed on Wednesday that he will be leaving the team “after the first quarter of 2025”. However, his immediate departure from his Red Bull F1 role indicates that his attention will now be solely devoted to the RB17 hypercar project.
In recent months, there have been rumors about the potential departure of Newey, a crucial figure in Red Bull Racing. Another key member, Verstappen, a three-time World Champion and likely to secure a fourth title in F1 2024, has also been consistently linked to exit speculations. However, Verstappen has stated that he sees no justification to leave the team.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has expressed his desire to recruit Verstappen, implying that he hopes Schumacher’s prediction of Verstappen leaving Red Bull becomes a reality. Schumacher also anticipates that Verstappen will not be the only one seeking an exit from the team.
“Max Verstappen will leave the team. Alongside other good engineers who are guaranteed to go elsewhere, some of them with Adrian Newey,” Schumacher told Sky Germany.
“Is it going to occur next year or the following year? Nevertheless, I am confident that he will depart from Red Bull.”
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Could Verstappen potentially leave Red Bull in a sensational manner, with Mercedes being the leading candidate to sign him? Additionally, has Newey’s illustrious Formula 1 career come to an end?
Contrary to popular belief, Schumacher disagrees and is of the opinion that Newey will ultimately join Ferrari. This comes as no surprise, as Ferrari has actively pursued Newey’s expertise on numerous occasions in the past.
“It’s not by chance that he becomes available at the start of 2025,” Schumacher stated. “I believe Oliver Mintzlaff, the Red Bull managing director, even arranged for this to occur. Naturally, this decision was made out of respect for their accomplishments together.”
In my opinion, a Ferrari designed by Adrian Newey will grace the roads in 2026.
Schumacher believes that Red Bull’s future is extremely grim without the influence of Newey, one of F1’s greatest designers.
Taking into account all of his predictions, Schumacher believes that Red Bull is on a fast track towards mediocrity.
He boldly stated that Red Bull would soon fade into mediocrity.
Red Bull has been far from mediocre lately, as evidenced by Verstappen’s pursuit of his fifth win this season at the upcoming Miami Grand Prix.
Read next – Life after Adrian Newey: Meet the man set to take over Red Bull’s technical programme
