Red Bull is in decline, and the team’s management is to blame: letting go of Adrian Newey, the best designer in F1, was a mistake. Despite Max Verstappen’s strong performances – winner of the Japanese Grand Prix and pole-sitter in Jeddah, where he missed out on victory due to a penalty early in the race – the Milton Keynes-based team is struggling to solve its problems.
After the very first races of 2024, few would have predicted such a drastic drop from Red Bull. Seven wins in the first ten rounds, from Bahrain to Spain, followed by a long dry spell broken only in Brazil and later in Qatar, where Max Verstappen clinched his fourth drivers’ title. That success was the result of the huge advantage built up in the early part of the season, which remained at risk until Interlagos.
Today, the Dutchman remains the closest challenger to the two McLarens, trailing leader Oscar Piastri by just twelve points. The feeling, however, is that the RB21 might not be able to match the MCL39 – and perhaps even other rivals – throughout the entire championship. Work continues tirelessly in Milton Keynes, but the issues, which already began emerging a year ago, still seem far from resolved.
Red Bull’s decline: who is to blame?
The departure of Adrian Newey, already working on Aston Martin’s 2026 project, marked the beginning of the end for Red Bull. According to Ralf Schumacher, speaking to Sky Germany, the loss of the British engineer is one of the main causes of the decline. The blame, then, lies with Christian Horner, who failed to hold on to the best engineer currently in Formula 1.
“I simply believe that Pierre Waché is not Adrian Newey,” the German explained. “[Christian Horner] should have realized that and avoided losing him. He built the team, together with Helmut Marko, so he is responsible. I think he now has too much confidence in himself, and he’s facing a real dilemma.”
The Constructors’ standings are clear: McLaren is the new powerhouse in Formula 1, leading with 188 points, followed at a distance (−77 points) by Mercedes. Red Bull sits third, 99 points behind the Woking-based team, but with an 11-point advantage over fourth-placed Ferrari. The Maranello team, however, seems to have significant untapped potential, and Milton Keynes could soon find itself off the podium.:
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