Verstappen: It's time for Red Bull to rewrite history without Newey
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Reigning world champion Max Verstappen has issued a rallying cry to his Red Bull team: it's time to close the book on Adrian Newey's departure and write a fresh chapter of triumph.
Verstappen, who is poised to defend his title in 2025 without the genius who sculpted Red Bull's dominance, is determined to shift the narrative from loss to opportunity.
As the Milton Keynes squad gears up for a fiercely competitive campaign, Verstappen's words paint a picture of a team at a crossroads, ready to redefine its future.
Focused on the Road Ahead
Newey, the technical maestro whose designs propelled Red Bull to multiple championships, shocked the paddock last May when he announced his exit after nearly two decades with the team.
By September, he was on gardening leave, and earlier this week, he donned Aston Martin's green as their Managing Technical Partner.
For the first time in his Red Bull tenure, Verstappen begins a title defense without Newey's guiding hand – a void that could have cast a shadow over the team's ambitions.
©RedBull
Yet, the Dutchman is resolute, brushing aside nostalgia to focus on the road ahead.
"I don't think we should think about that too much," Verstappen told the BBC. "It is done. He is not there any more. That's how it is. It's how it's been last year."
The Dutchman's tone is pragmatic, almost defiant, as he seeks to silence the murmurs of what might have been. Instead, he's placing his trust in the team's current technical lineup, led by Pierre Wache, who has taken the reins on the RB21.
"And I trust also the people who are there at the moment. We have to do it all together," he added.
"It is a team effort, but I have a lot of respect for what Adrian has done for the team, have a great relationship with Adrian and I am excited for him to start a new project."
A Nod to Newey, A Vision for Unity
Verstappen's admiration for Newey shines through, a testament to the bond forged over years of success. Late last season, when the legendary designer's move to Aston Martin was announced, Verstappen revealed a personal touch.
"Adrian and I, we have a very good understanding," he said. "I sent him also a message after the news came out, even though, of course, I knew that it was coming. So I'm happy for him."
It's a sentiment that hints at future possibilities – perhaps even a reunion down the line.
"That is something maybe for the future that I think about, not now."
©RedBull
For now, though, his focus is resolute: unite Red Bull's troops and charge toward a new era of glory.
The RB21, Red Bull's weapon for 2025, emerged from pre-season testing in Bahrain last week with mixed signals, and with the team admitting it's not yet at the level to dethrone McLaren, the paddock's pacesetter.
This candid assessment sets the stage for a season where Verstappen's championship mettle – and Red Bull's resilience – will be tested like never before.
If the car falters, whispers of Verstappen's future will grow louder once again Linked to Aston Martin and a potential Newey reunion, the 27-year-old's destiny remains a tantalizing subplot.
But his immediate mission is clear: galvanize his team and prove they can thrive without their former architect.
Marko's Reality Check: McLaren Looms Large
In the wake of last week's three-day test at Sakhir, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko offered a slightly sobering counterpoint to Verstappen's optimism.
The Austrian didn't sugarcoat the challenge ahead as the bulls prepare for the season opener in Australia next week.
"In my opinion, it will be a three-way or four-way battle between McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and us," he told Sport.de. "Although, if you look at the test results, McLaren already has a head start.
"That was the case in both the short and long runs. The current favourite is clearly McLaren."
Marko's appraisal is grounded in data from Bahrain, where McLaren's MCL39 – despite trailing rivals on raw timesheets – shone in Lando Norris' race simulation, cementing its status as the benchmark.
Asked to quantify Red Bull's deficit, Marko replied: "It's hard to say exactly what that looks like, because the weather conditions were completely out of the norm.
"It was cold, there was strong wind, it was even raining. It was only the case on Wednesday, when we were on a par with McLaren.
"But on Friday, the last day, I would say that we were still two to three-tenths behind in the long run. What's more, McLaren's tyre wear was also significantly better than our data indicated. McLaren is the favourite everywhere with this car."
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This gap – two to three tenths – looms as a daunting hurdle. In F1's razor-thin margins, it's a chasm that could define Red Bull's season.
But Marko's bluntness underscores the stakes: without Newey's magic touch, the team must rely on collective grit and ingenuity to claw background.
Verstappen's call for unity takes on added weight against this backdrop – a plea for his engineers, mechanics, and strategists to coalesce into a force capable of toppling the papaya juggernaut.
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