Red Bull less competitive due to Newey departure? 'It's not a share price'

Newey announced prior to the Miami Grand Prix that he is leaving Red Bull. The top designer is already no longer involved in the development of the car, although he is still at some Grands Prix for operational matters. Since the 65-year-old Briton went public with the announcement that it is ending for him at the Austrian racing team, performance has declined. Perhaps worse, McLaren has managed to turn a deficit into a lead.

RB20 not comparable to share price

"Do you think they are missing Newey? For obvious reasons, I am not going to answer that," Jordan said in the podcast Formula For Success. Coulthard then responded as follows: "I don’t think the more competitive field is down to Adrian saying, a few races ago, that next year he will leave the team. It’s ridiculous to imagine. It’s not a share price."

The former Red Bull driver explains what he means by that: "It’s not a share price. When the founder of Apple died the share price dropped even though they had an incredible stream of products that had just been launched. The stock market is a lot about emotion. Race car performance is about what you’ve delivered, what you’ve physically manufactured."

An announcement on Newey's follow-up move is still pending. Coulthard: "When you eventually announce he’s going to Aston Martin, do we suddenly think their performance will gain half-a-second just because of an announcement? Of course not. He’s got to then start the long journey of getting to know the team of people, getting to know the facilities, bringing his vision forward. That can take years. It took five or four years at Red Bull for that success to come."

Where does Newey's future lie?

What triggers Jordan is Coulthard's assumption that Newey will join Lawrence Stroll's team at Silverstone. "You have made a statement about where you think Adrian may or may not be going. I would say to you: one, I cannot believe that what you said is currently in a situation where you can justifiably call it a fact." An interesting dialogue then followed.

Coulthard continued with saying his thoughts on the future transfer. "Well, he’s not going to Ferrari. Because a very senior source has said no. He’s not going to McLaren unless it’s linked to road cars. Why would you bring Adrian into something that is working now? McLaren have found a trend of development."

Jordan then answered: "What you’ve just said is extremely fanciful. If you remember the things I’ve come out with, and Adrian has come out with... It’s still in the melting pot. What you’ve just said is inaccurate and fanciful."

The former team owner then decided to shut the conversation down. "Why am I going to tell you? I have to tell you that the reason why no-one will know is: it’s the summer period, he went to Goodwood with the RB17, he’s still working with Red Bull. There’s an argument to say Red Bull should approach him and ask if he’d come back again! But I think it’s far too late. The reality is that Adrian is spending downtime. He has spent every year of his life, night and day, since 19. He’s now mid-60s. He is having fun, his daughter got married, he’s doing other things that he’s never been able to do before."

This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi