Helmut Marko Refutes Adrian Newey Exit as Cause for Red Bull’s RB20 Struggles

Helmut Marko refutes claims connecting Adrian Newey's departure to the RB20's decline

Is Adrian Newey's exit the reason for Red Bull's recent struggles?

Helmut Marko has rejected allegations that Adrian Newey's upcoming departure is the cause of the RB20's decline in performance.

Red Bull’s top technical executive surprised the Formula 1 community earlier this year by announcing his departure from the team he joined in 2005.

Newey has not been actively involved in each race since the Miami event and is expected to join a competing F1 team, with reports suggesting it could be Aston Martin, next year.

Max Verstappen is currently experiencing an unusual streak of six races without a win, and Christian Horner has acknowledged that Red Bull is uncertain about the reasons behind their car's performance issues.

Marko mentioned in an article for Speedweek that fans are speculating that their decline might be linked to Adrian Newey leaving.

"However, that's incorrect. By springtime, Newey had stepped back from handling every aspect of the car's design."

"Undoubtedly, Newey stands out as Newey, a person marked by his remarkable experience."

“Our issue is different. The cases of Mercedes and, to a smaller degree, Ferrari have demonstrated the challenges teams face in managing these vehicles with wings.”

"However, I am still hopeful: Our technical team is quite extensive, and I firmly believe that we will be able to address this issue."

"The main issue at hand is: What steps should we take to rediscover the optimal vehicle balance we had earlier in the season?"

At Monza, Max Verstappen stated that he preferred not to have an additional 20 points of downforce if it rendered the car uncontrollable.

"We need to take it apart and try to locate the position where the car was stable."

“If we achieve that, the car's performance will be consistent once more, drivers will regain their confidence, and they will be able to contribute optimally again.

"Naturally, this is a challenging job since we've incorporated numerous new components into the car since that time."

"To put it plainly, we must identify the point at which we made a technical error."

Red Bull's comments are astonishing, especially given their dominance earlier this year, continuing their trend since 2022.

Indeed, Marko's comments bear a striking resemblance to Toto Wolff's bewilderment as Mercedes faced their challenging period.

Potentially concerning for Red Bull's future prospects, they are preparing to bid farewell to their brilliant car designer, Newey.

However, the team maintains that the timing is purely coincidental, and Newey's recent detachment from their F1 project is not the reason for their lackluster performance.

At Monza, Horner remarked that the problems were inevitable because they existed beforehand, and no single person's influence could have caused such rapid changes.

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