Former F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen insists Red Bull guru Adrian Newey has BIZARRE driver preference

Adrian Newey

Former F1 world champion insists Red Bull guru Newey has BIZARRE driver preference

The genius Red Bull designer has worked with some of F1's greatest, but one group stands out

Joe Ellis

Friday 11 August 2023 10:57

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Adrian Newey loves to work with Finnish drivers in particular, according to two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen.

The Red Bull designer has created some of F1's most dominant cars, including this year's RB19 which hasn't been beaten in the opening 12 races of the 2023 campaign.

The likes of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen have won multiple world titles thanks to Newey's brilliance, who worked at McLaren prior to his switch to Red Bull.

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It was at Woking where he and Hakkinen worked together and the Finn knows that Newey appreciated his straight-forwardness.

Hakkinen: We don't goof around

Hakkinen and Raikkonen were the embodiment of 'If you want to win, employ a Finn'

"Adrian values Finnish drivers enormously," Hakkinen said to Iltalehti.

"He likes that when we give feedback about our car, we only talk about the point and don't goof around unnecessarily."

Kimi Raikkonen, another Finnish world champion, also benefitted from Newey's excellence during his early days at McLaren and he is as straightforward as they come.

Vettel and Verstappen have both proven to be great allies to Newey at Red Bull but he has a preference to work with the no-nonsense Finns.