Christian Horner has response to other F1 team principals talking about CVs coming from Red Bull’s end amid Adrian Newey’s exit.
For few months, it has been noted about Red Bull losing people. The whole of Miami GP weekend saw everyone discuss about the departure of Newey and its domino effect. The rumour also had Jonathan Wheatley exiting the team post his contract.
The claim of CVs flying around first came from McLaren’s Zak Brown, it was then backed up by Mercedes’ Toto Wolff. On the other hand, Aston Martin’s Mike Krack and Visa Cash App RB’s Laurent Mekies said otherwise, while Williams’ James Vowles expected it to happen.
Brown: “Yeah, we’ve seen an increase in CVs coming our way from the team. And I think Adrian is the most successful designer of all time. So in addition to the technical that he brings to the racing team, people want to work for people like Adrian Newey and work alongside him. So I think they will be missing what he brings to the team from a pure technical point of view. And then I think the leadership and the excitement people get from working with him will be missed.”
Vowles: “I mean, almost word for word what I was going to say. He’s an incredible character that has huge accolades behind him in the sport, well known for being the best designer really in his field. And that will have an impact, there’s no doubt about it. How much he was involved in Red Bull or not, I couldn’t say. We’re not buried within there. But what I can say is it will have an impact. Of course it will, someone of his character and his strength.”
Krack: “Yeah, again, same. If someone of that skills and experience and qualities is leaving a team, it has an impact. On the other hand, there will be others. There are always opportunities as well for other people. It’s a team sport these days. It’s very, very large teams that work together. To say much more, you have to be in the team, really, because each team is also a little bit differently structured, differently working, so to really say what impact it will have, it would be a pure guess. And no [we haven’t seen a CV increase from Red Bull].”
Mekies: “We have to be very careful with the CVs coming from Red Bull, otherwise Zak is getting upset. So we haven’t seen the increase of CVs coming. But no, seriously, of course it’s going to make a difference in any team if a person of the calibre of Adrian is leaving. It’s changing, of course, the internal dynamics. It’s going to change. Also, as you said, you know, also from a leadership perspective, it’s a new balance, I’m sure, to be found. And it will be the same for any team in that situation.”
Wolff: “Zak is absolutely correct with seeing Red Bull CVs, through all of the levels, but I would say this is not anything out of the extraordinary. People change teams and want to change environment. So I’ve come to the point that I’m not really interested in what’s going on with the leadership, not listening to anything anymore. It’s important for us to look at our team and to see the level of the strong people and hopefully get some interesting, competent people from other teams into Mercedes and provide an exciting journey to recovery and the Austrians are winning idiots, anyway only 103 people watching their channels.”
Vasseur: “You have to ask the question to the people of the company, if the management is friendly or not! I don’t want to lose energy for the wrong topic. I think we have a lot to do internally. We have to improve, we have to recruit, we have to develop the car. We have a huge amount of work on the table, and I don’t want to lose my energy, my time, my budget to fight with my colleagues. It’s not my approach at all and I won’t go on this way. A lot of people from all the teams are doing a lot of interviews in Maranello, including Mercedes (laughs).”
Responding to all of his, Horner was seemingly calm and didn’t wish to add to the tit-for-tat situation. He didn’t wish to add on the rumours around Wheatley even, as he threw a ball from his side about taking in more than 200 people from Mercedes HPP side.
“Not in the slightest, I don’t know from where these CVs are supposedly coming from but we also get CVs every week,” said Horner. “I think it’s inevitable. You know the two candidates involved [Wolff and Brown], they talk a lot. I’m not going to get sucked into a tit-for-tat but I’d be more focused on Toto’s own issues that he has. I don’t have any concern with the strength in depth.
“Of course, there is always going to be movement between teams. I don’t know how many people we’ve employed from McLaren this year, or how many people VCARB have employed. Mercedes, we’ve taken 220 people, 220, out of HPP [High Performance Powertrains] into Red Bull Powertrains so when we talk about losing people I would be more worried about the 220 than one or two CVs.
“There are rumours about everybody [including Wheatley]. Contracts between individuals and their terms and conditions is not something that we really talk to the public,” summed up Horner. In another Red Bull/Mercedes bickering, Wolff had a response to Red Bull’s boss Oliver Mintzlaff who spoke on the recent sayings from the Austrian.
“I understand the pressure that Toto Wolff and perhaps other teams have after years of being behind,” Mintzlaff said to Bild Am Sonntag. “But I think Toto Wolff should concentrate on his challenges. He has enough of those. And it also has something to do with respect. If I keep talking about the personnel of other teams, that’s not right.”
The Red Bull boss said this amid chatter from Wolff regarding Max Verstappen and other matters of the F1 team other than his. In response, the Mercedes chief said: “I don’t know what this guy is commenting on, it has no relevance for me.”
Here’s F1 team bosses on Adrian Newey’s departure
Here’s what F1 drivers say about Adrian Newey
Here’s news of Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull
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