“Private conversation” with Christian Horner revealed over “mass exodus” fear
“He did a good job of convincing me..."
Martin Brundle feels reassured that Red Bull will not face a “mass exodus” of key personnel after speaking privately with Christian Horner.
The departure of chief technical officer Adrian Newey is a blow to F1’s dominant team who have experienced unrest off-track since the beginning of the year.
Team principal and chief executive Horner was cleared of wrongdoing after being investigated for his behaviour, but the knock-on effect has exposed issues within the organisation.
Max Verstappen, his father Jos and Helmut Marko have become embroiled at various times but now the focus has shifted onto which vital staff members could follow Newey out of the exit door.
Brundle said on Sky Sports: “I had a long private conversation with Christian as well, and I said ‘will you have a mass exodus?’
“If you’ve been part of a multiple championship winning team, you’ve got extra value if you change teams.
“It’s a pretty small world we operate in.
“He went through, not too many specifics, but key people and departments that he’s got in place because he knew Adrian was going to do this, sooner rather than later.
“He did a good job of convincing me that he’s got great people looking at the chassis, the aero, the power unit…”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown stirred the pot during the F1 Miami Grand Prix by suggesting that the CVs of important Red Bull employees are circulating.
It has led to fears that Red Bull could be stripped of the knowledge which built the dominant RB20, which will carry Verstappen to a fourth consecutive title this season.
However, Horner has played down those concerns.
It was put to Jenson Button that multiple Red Bull employees were miffed at how much credit was given to Newey for their car’s dominance.
Button insists that the team’s remaining engineers will want to stay, to prove that they can win without Newey’s genius.
“I think that’s a big thing,” Button said.
“It’s a big deal for the rest of the design team.
“Now they get the credit if it goes well. Obviously, if it doesn’t, it hurts them.
“It’s an important time for those guys. They won’t want to step away at this time.
“They want to be at the head of this, if they continue winning.”
Pierre Wache is the technical director at Red Bull whose importance will surely grow with Newey out of the picture.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
