F1
How Red Bull is losing its mind in F1
© Red Bull Content Pool
Money, weariness, exasperation? What matters are the reasons that led Adrian Newey, technical director, Jonathan Wheatley, sporting director, and now Will Courtenay, head of strategy, to break ties with Red Bull Racing. They are the sign of a movement that increasingly resembles a groundswell capable, at worst, of dragging Milton Keynes down or, at best, of provoking a new era. What is striking in the departure of these veterans who arrived at the beginning of the Red Bull adventure in the mid-2000s is their rapprochement in time since between the announcement of Newey's departure and that of Courtenay, only five months have passed.
What also raises questions is the fact that this haemorrhage affects exclusively the pillars of the structure and that it comes after what has been called "the Horner affair" which shook the team and caused a fracture within it. When the allegations of sexual harassment and coercive and abusive behavior against a female employee emerged at the beginning of February, Newey, a historic figure in Red Bull design, found himself destabilized - not to say affected - by a situation reflecting a fierce power struggle within Red Bull. If Wheatley and Courtenay have never alluded
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vincent moyet
01/10/2024 at 11:16 a.m.
A war of succession and a power struggle behind the scenes, it seems more and more likely. And between Marko washing away the drivers likely to support Verstappen one after the other, and the conflict between the Verstappen and Horner clan, the atmosphere must be unbearable. One thing is sure, when you look at the results, something serious is happening... The constructors' title is already lost, and a departure of MV would be the final blow, knowing that no driver from the RB nebula is able to replace him.
Yves-Henri RANDIER
01/10/2024 at 10:14 a.m.
Adrian NEWEY certainly affected by the Hornergate of early 2024 because wasn't it also his assistant that he shared with Christian HORNER! Assistant who would have, according to certain rumors across the Channel necessarily bad tongues, flirted with a VERSTAPPEN Senior ... hence perhaps a reason for the HORNER / VERSTAPPEN Senior rivalry beyond the power struggle following the death of Dieter MATESCHITZ. For Jonathan WHEATLEY, his horizon was blocked at Red Bull Racing and if he aspired to more responsibilities, he had to leave the energy drink. As for the departure of Will COURTENAY, the important thing for Red Bull Racing is to keep its strategist Hannah SCHMITZ. And the Red Bull company, like any well-managed company, has certainly put in place an "in-house" replacement/succession plan in order to compensate for the departure of some and others.