2024 has been a year of shocks in Formula One land. Lewis Hamilton dropped the bombshell pre-season he was leaving for Ferrari then the most decorated engineer in the sports history, Adrian Newey, revealed his time at Red Bull would end next year.
The there was much talk of Newey joining Ferrari which Lewis Hamilton claimed would be his “dream,” yet the Italian media claimed recently that this was not on the cards and in fact Newey would be moving to Aston Martin on a deal reported to be worth a whopping $100m.
Newey had been restless for some time and so Red Bull afforded him the opportunity to work on other projects as well as Formula One team. He worked on the Gran Turismo 5 video game, the Aston Martin Valkyrie – and he’s also responsible to see through to the end the forthcoming RB17, which will be Red Bull’s first supercar.
Wache fulfils Newey’s old role
In fact Newey has not held the role of Red Bull Racing technical director for some years allowing him the flexibility to act as a consultant to the F1 team during his 180 days a year in England. He has a hime in South Africa where he spends a considerable amount of time each year.
Pierre Wache stepped up to fill Newey’s day to day role as technical director in 2018 and to a certain extent in terms of the structure of the red Bull design team, nothing changes with the departure of Newey.
Further, Newey has not been involved with the design of Red Bull’s entire car for some time. He admitted last year he had constrained his input into the new ground effect cars to the front and rear suspension with Wache and the team taking care of the rest. This off course was Red Bull’s strength in 2022, with others suffering extreme bouncing the RB18 appeared to float across the surface of the track.
By including an ‘anti-dive’ component into the front suspension, Newey’s design prevented the cars from dipping at the front under heavy breaking. Similarly at the rear he designed an ‘anti-squat’ feature to prevent the car sitting down when under fierce acceleration. All this created a stable platform where the air flow under the car – which now creates about 50% of the downforce – would be undisturbed.
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Newey suspension design now problematic
However, a consequence of Newey’s suspension design means the car runs very stiff which a high speed circuits with low kerbs is not a problem. With other teams struggling with the new ground effect rules, this was not a problem for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
At circuits with high kerbs they had enough pace to stay off them and still put in quicker lap times than the rest of the field. However, this year the rest of the field have played catch up and the stiff suspension design of the RB20 has caused significant problems.
In Monaco, Max Verstappen could manage just P6 in qualifying as his car was compromised when regularly running over the kerbs of the street circuit. The Ferrari’s in the principality took the kerbs with ease resulting in a 1-3 finish, their best of the season.
In Canada, the Red Bull was again compromised by the circuit layout and kerbs and George Russell hauled his thus far not too impressive Mercedes onto pole position. During the race Verstappen benefitted from a combination of changeable weather and a late safety car saw the world champion steal the win from Lando Norris.
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Red Bull’s biggest upgrade failed
Red Bull introduced what Max Verstappen described as its biggest Formula 1 upgrade of the year so far in Hungary, including a new side pod and engine cover package. But the new components didn’t work as expected and Verstappen could only manage third place in qualifying.
In the race the car even in Max’s hands wasn’t quick enough to make quick work of passing Hamilton and a frustrated Verstappen could only manage fifth place. Red Bull reverted to the pre-Hungary spec car but things turned out to be little better as Max taking en engine penalty and starting in P11 could only climb to P4 by the end of the race.
The Newey suspension which defeated all comers in the last two seasons has become so problematic for the team, Verstappen has won just three of the last nine Grand Prix.
Worryingly, Wache and his team now without input from Newey haven’t so far been able to solve the problems with the RB20.
Wache makes worrying admission
The Italian press reported recently that Ferrari had tried to convince Wache to join the Italian team, but with Newey’s departure the Frenchman was offered a new contract from Red Bull which binds him until 2028.
Wache now pays tribute to Newey in an interview with German publication Auto Motor und Sport. “He was more than an inspiration. He is a legend. He deserves all the credit for working hard, for living for his work and for always wanting to win,” the 49-year-old Frenchman told Auto, Motor und Sport.
“What I learned from him is that despite all those titles and victories, he remained technically unbiased. At his age, being open to everything is a remarkable quality, because as you get older, you often become blind to certain things. That’s how I feel sometimes,” Waché continued.
As if that admission isn’t worrying enough for Red Bull, Wache continues admitting he’ll never be like his predecessor. “I will never achieve what he did. I will never become like him because I could never develop the all consuming passion as he has,” concludes Red Bull’s technical director.
Red Bull F1 Racing are defined by their obsessive passion and now without Newey – Wache must quickly get on top of the RB20. With bogey circuits like Singapore and Brazil coming up for the world champions, they need solutions fast if they are not to lose to McLaren in this year’s constructors’ title.
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In a decisive statement, Porsche has officially closed the chapter on a possible return to Formula One, ending a period of speculation and negotiation that has captivated the motorsport world. The confirmation came directly from Porsche’s head of motorsport, Thomas Laudenbach, who made it clear that the German carmaker will not be making a comeback to the pinnacle of motorsport.
In a significant and definitive move, Porsche has now officially confirmed that its pursuit of a place in Formula One is over, marking the end of a long and complicated journey filled with both anticipation and setbacks.
The decision, perhaps inevitable in hindsight, follows the collapse of high-profile negotiations with Red Bull Racing, which once looked set to bring the iconic German manufacturer back to the F1 grid. Despite lingering hopes that Porsche might explore other opportunities within the sport, the lack of urgency and momentum behind these efforts ultimately led to the brand’s complete withdrawal from any further pursuit of a Formula One entry… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
