F1 legend Adrian Newey admits fearing Red Bull advantage being 'ERADICATED'

adrian newey at Red Bull — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 legend Newey admits fearing Red Bull advantage being 'ERADICATED'

The performance of the RB19 had Red Bull concerned going into the season

Tyler Rowlinson

Sunday 4 February 2024 20:57

Legendary Formula 1 engineer Adrian Newey has admitted that the lack of changes to the regulations after the 2022 season eradicated fears of Red Bull’s RB19 being an evolution car.

Following the dramatic end to the 2021 season, the sport had arguably the biggest technical overhaul in its history.

The new regulations marked the end of the turbo-hybrid era and brought about a new generation of cars, which Red Bull took advantage of and provided a car that gave Max Verstappen his second world title in comfortable fashion.

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But heading into 2023, there were little to no changes to the rules, leaving the team concerned about whether they would tail off with the RB19.

That would prove not to be the case as the Dutchman was even more dominant than the previous year, cruising to the title with 19 wins out of a possible 22.

Max Verstappen has completely dominated F1 in recent years

Red Bull took advantage of the new regulations and were miles ahead of their rivals

But Adrian Newey admitted that there were some fears heading into 2023

Newey's Red Bull performance fears

Speaking with Top Gear, Newey admitted that their dominance ‘eradicated’ any fears they had over the RB19 being an evolution car.

When asked whether it surprised him that it was possible to create a car so dominant, he said: “It does actually. It’s a complete surprise.

“For the ’22 season we had the biggest regulation change on the chassis side since 1983, in terms of going back to venturi cars.

“We thought as we headed into the second year, with almost no regulation change over the winter and us running what is in effect an evolution car, that our advantage would be diminished, if not eradicated. Clearly that’s not how it’s panned out.”

Red Bull Max Verstappen Adrian Newey 2023 RB19 Dutchman