Impact of Adrian Newey exit noted amid Red Bull’s struggles

The influence of Adrian Newey’s departure from Red Bull has been debated amid the team’s declining dominance.

Max Verstappen overcame a mid-season slump to wrap up his fourth Formula 1 championship in a row at the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

But that title was at-risk when the RB20’s competitiveness fell behind after McLaren introduced a game-changing upgrade in Miami.

Jenson Button told Sky Sports that, if Newey was still involved in the day-to-day development at Red Bull, he might have nipped their decline in the bud.

“Definitely. It’s not all down to Adrian, how they build these cars,” Button explained.

“But he was very good with the detail. That’s what they’ve lost with Adrian walking away.

“He could take a step back and they would do most of the aerodynamics, then he’d pinpoint certain things and say ‘that needs to be slightly better’.

“So they are missing that.”

Legendary car designer Newey announced he would leave Red Bull earlier this season and has since signed for Aston Martin, who he will officially join in March 2025.

Newey and Jonathan Wheatley are two high-profile exits from a team who have fought among themselves at times this year.

Yet their star driver Verstappen still did his job on-track.

“This is more of a normal way of winning a championship,” Button said.

“Last year was extreme and will go down in history.

“In Bahrain [earlier this year] they were half-a-second quicker than everyone and we thought it’d be a walk in the park. It was, for a few races.

“Then off-track there was a lot for us to talk about, and a fractured team.

“Newey leaving is a big deal. Whether it affects this year? I don’t think so. But it was spiralling.

“Watching Max on-track he seemed calm to get as many points as possible in every race. He didn’t get stressed by not having the fastest car. He got it into his head that he won’t win another race, ‘just do the best I can’.”