How to get F1 exciting again: 'Send Adrian Newey into retirement'

Max Verstappen has managed to match a feat by Nigel Mansell. Just as the Briton managed earlier, the now three-time champion managed to claim the world title with five Grands Prix to go. Mansell is full of praise for Verstappen, but at the same time hopes the Dutchman will face more competition. "That's what I hope for Formula One fans," he said in conversation with AceOdds.

Mansell does realise that Red Bull is currently well ahead of the other teams, although the gap with Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren seems to be closing. But to get teams truly equal, the one-time F1 champion says a rigorous measure is needed: "Well for a level playing field, what you need to do is retire Adrian Newey. He is a genius. Adrian Newey is a genius. It is fantastic," Mansell praised the master designer of the RB19, among others.

"And, you know, to have him tied up with Red Bull for, you know, his whole career now and everything else is a genius move as well," he said. "And I mean, I have to say dynamic team, brilliant team, professional team, and everyone's gotta do the same thing. It's just like when Jean Todt was with Ferrari, with Michael Schumacher and the team and expertise they had there, it happens. And just like Mercedes did with Lewis Hamilton for a period of time with all sorts of people working there, they kept the same team together and they were unbeatable."

A lot of other teams did have regular personnel changes, for example, Ferrari and McLaren. Especially in Formula 1, continuity is hugely important. "And what's gotta happen now is that Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and everybody else has got to hopefully dig deep to catch up and it can be wide open for 2024.," Mansell said.