Ultimately, everything hinges on the quality of the people you have in place. Christian Horner argues that no one is bigger than the team, but could draw a valuable lesson from rulers that have collapsed before.
Adrian Newey will leave Red Bull Racing and so you are quick to hear people around the team exclaim that the top designer's influence has been nil in recent years. While it is true that Newey was no longer involved in day-to-day operations as Chief Technical Officer, he is now the man responsible for Max Verstappen's current successful car.
Of course, it is now very easy for Red Bull Racing to say that there is a good team in place. Pierré Wache makes a good impression as technical director, but you can't help feel that Newey still has a louder voice on the drawing board that counts more. The fact that Newey has a high knowledge of the current ground-effect cars is another clear sign.
After all, just because an organisation is in good shape under a top executive does not mean it will function without that top executive. How many major sports teams have collapsed after a top executive disappeared?
Ferrari and Manchester United are examples for Red Bull Racing
In F1, Ferrari is the best example. That team hasn't been dominant since the departure of Jean Todt and Ross Brawn. Although most of the people in the organisation remained the same, the results have failed to materialise. Such a team of hundreds needs a leader who points in the right direction, who comes up with brilliant ideas. Brawn was that for Ferrari, Newey has been that for years for Red Bull Racing.
Ferrari are far from being the only example. Consider Manchester United, who have struggled for years following Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.
It is too easy to think that the rest of the team can just take over from a genius like Newey. It is no coincidence that he has built championship-winning cars at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull Racing. That is quality. The quality that will be lost if he leaves must be absorbed.
That is not to say that Waché and Enrico Balbo (Head of Aerodynamics) do not have those qualities. They now have to go and prove that. However, assuming that they should be able to do without Newey for a while is too facile.
Success in sport (or in any other industry) ultimately depends on people. It is no different in F1. You can draw out all the success teams of the past. Then you always mention the team boss, the top technical man and the star driver. Replace one of those parts and you get the chance of the team becoming unbalanced. Let alone if with Newey's departure you would also lose the star driver. Then Red Bull Racing's dominance in F1 could soon be over.
Some RBR fans has said that Wolff are trying to persuade FIA to change the rules to stop RBR domination...But the fact is that Horner has done what Wolff didn t succeed to do...
"Wolff are trying to persuade FIA to change the rules"
Were you sleeping in 2022?
And it wasn't specifically to slow down RB, it was to try to give his team an advantage over every other team.
"Horner has done what Wolff didn t succeed to do"
What's that?
It wasn't to slow RB?? Really? Well, you'd better tell that to all the RB fans who, at the time, thought it was.
Haha! I'm sure RB fans can appreciate and congratulate Horner on that one. Oh the confusion.
Do yo agree that Christian Horner should ask for a raise of his salary because of that? :))
Oh for sure! That way Geri has even more reason to stick by him. Ouch!
It's crazy that he did that to her. You see the family at home and it looks (in front of the cameras at least) a perfect scenario. But I guess when the cameras aren't rolling, it's not all as it seems.
That divorce is incoming. Probably waiting till after the appeal. Keep his “image” of a perfect veneer wearing fool intact
With all this turmoil and change, this has become extremely attractive, and shuffling the cards has been very beneficial to the sport. Constantly in the last couple of years, since the beginning of the rules with ground effect, all the success of RB has been attributed to Newey, and now it will be interesting to see what he can do in Ferrari (that's my assumption).
Rory Byrne was the brilliant designer at Ferrari. Ross Brawn's job was overseeing the team's execution.
I absolutely agree. Byrne isn't mentioned often, but he was a brilliant engineer and probably close if not on par to Newey. But there was also Aldo Costa (later MB) and as you pointed out, Brawn as well.
F1 remains a team work despite of all.
In my opinion, someone like Newey, to only name him, needs a strong entourage in order to create outstanding cars. Horner understood this and gave him everything he needed to achieve his goals. No wonder they are still friends.
Oh I remember Rory. Yeah that F2004 was something else! Even James Allison had a hand in that one.
What is a valid question, is Where was Newey when Merc dominated for 8 years?
For the time being.. even if Newey leaves, RB will be in contention for the WDC/Constructors for ‘25, regardless. The effects wouldn’t be immediate.. ‘26 is when everything resettles. For all we know, in ‘26 Haas could have the winning car. Ok.. JK, maybe not Haas, but you get my point.. LOL
Jean Todt and Ross Brawn at Ferrari (Team Principal and Technical Director) were equivalent to Christian Horner and Pierré Wache at RB today. As far as I know, neither of them are going any where soon, so what is the comparison?
Whoah, whoah, whoah there. Don't compare Todt to Horner. Team position yes, bring up the team maybe, but as people... oh no, that is such an insult to Todt.
You weren't comparing them as people though right? Because.. well... no. :)
I want to see Wache do race strategies like Brawn could. :)
what a BS article, gp blog and its editors will do everything to publicly destroy RB. The editor should first know that
AN has had the necessary knowledge and skills with ground effect design since 1982/83.
if he tries to belittle the rest of the team involved in the development of rb, then he must admire all the other teams and their engineers who had no prior knowledge
Again, someone calling out BS and slagging off someone (in this case an entire website, that he frequents), just because he doesn't like what's being said.
Get over yourself. Not everything that happens in this world is designed around you needing to like it.
This isn't The Truman Show.
Picture that article being about Mercedes. You still here calling it BS? No of course not.
Horner has done more to destroy Red Bull than anyone!
This blog isn't out to do that at all. If it was so anti-Red Bull, you wouldn't have the majority of members being Red Bull fans.
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