Albers: Red Bull Must Prove Itself Without Newey—Verstappen Hiding Team’s Weaknesses?
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers believes Red Bull Racing, under Pierre Waché’s leadership, must now prove they can remain at the top without Adrian Newey. He also suggests that Max Verstappen’s brilliance may be masking deeper performance issues within the team.
“Make or Break” for Waché & Red Bull
Writing in his De Telegraaf column, Albers paints a less-than-rosy picture of Red Bull’s current situation:
“It was always said that Adrian Newey, now working for Aston Martin, wasn’t that influential in recent years. Well, now’s the time to prove it!”
While Red Bull’s expertise and resources should, in theory, help them stay ahead, Albers sees little evidence of progress since their dominant peak:
“Honestly, I haven’t seen much improvement from Red Bull in a while.”
‘The Max Factor’ Is Distorting the Reality
Albers also argues that Verstappen’s sheer talent is making Red Bull look stronger than they actually are.
“The picture is distorted by the Max factor. I firmly believe he’s making up that last 3.5 tenths. Max is the decisive factor—especially alongside his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, in fine-tuning the car.”
Where Red Bull Still Shines
Despite his criticism, Albers does credit Red Bull’s ability to fine-tune their car over a race weekend, though he notes that sprint weekends—like in China—add an extra challenge due to limited practice time.
Would Red Bull Struggle Without Verstappen?
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