Red Bull hits back at Adrian Newey “inexperience” comment

Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has acknowledged claims made by Adrian Newey that the Austrian team’s performance issues in 2024 were due to “inexperience.”

Newey made the shocking announcement that he had decided to leave Red Bull after almost two decades with the team ahead of the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. Following the aerodynamicist’s exit as chief technical officer, the Milton Keynes outfit encountered balance issues with the RB20, although this is not proven to be a result of Newey leaving.

The issues were compounded by McLaren’s staggering jump in performance which saw them overtake Red Bull in the standings and later go on to secure the Constructors’ Championship title, the first time the Woking-based squad has won the trophy since 1998.

Whilst speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Newey commented on Red Bull’s struggles, stating:

“From what I can see from the outside, but I don’t know, the guys at Red Bull – this is no criticism – I think they just, perhaps through lack of experience, kept going in that same direction.”

During an interview with Planet F1, Wache explained:

“It’s true that I have a lot less experience than [Newey].

“He’s 66 years old, and I’m 50 – 16 years less experience than him. I cannot comment on that.

“I don’t take it personally, and maybe it’s true. It doesn’t change anything, I think what you have to learn… this type of comment, for me, doesn’t matter.”

He added:

“We didn’t do a good enough job last year, and we lost ground in terms of performance – maybe by experience, maybe by misunderstanding some stuff, and we tried to correct it,” Wache said.

“What is correct is that it looks, for me, that we understand. 

“I think this is how you learn the most. When we were in 2023, we learned less than last year, and every problem you have gives you a little bit more to understand what you need to do.

“In this sense, I think it was very beneficial, and it’s what I enjoy the most. Fixing a problem is our job.

“Personally, it doesn’t affect me. From my point of view, my job is not personal. 

“My job is to make sure, in an engineering competition, I’m more affected by the fact that we are not good enough and losing, than a personal comment about myself.”

Although Red Bull lost the championship battle to McLaren, finishing third behind Ferrari, it’s not as though the team had a catastrophic year. Max Verstappen fended off Lando Norris to win his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship title during the Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

After parting ways with Mexican driver Sergio Perez following the 2024 season, Red Bull looks ahead to 2025 with a fresh driver pairing as Liam Lawson joins Verstappen.