Newey departure concerns soothed by new Red Bull technical lead

Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché is pleased with the team he has at his disposal following the announcement that Adrian Newey will depart early 2025. 

It is not only the chief technical officer departing, as sporting director Jonathan Wheatley is also on the way out at the end of the year to become Audi's team principal in 2026. 

Waché has taken responsibility for the development of Red Bull's car for 2026 when the new power unit regulations are introduced, and signed a new contract with the team earlier this year. 

The Frenchman has a greater role within the Milton Keynes-based team but insists that he is "not perfect" in his position. 

However, what Waché does point out, is that those in his team all make up for each other's weaknesses. 

"If we are not satisfied with something, of course we try to change it or compensate for it," Waché told the Dutch branch of Motorsport.com. 

"Speaking for myself, I am not perfect in my role, just as no one is perfect in life. And you should certainly never think you are perfect.

"On the contrary, you have to gather people around you to compensate for your own weaknesses, that's how it should be. I hope and I see that all the people below me are better than myself in certain things, to compensate for what I can't do. 

"We are a group and in that it is not that some are weaker than others. No, everyone has strengths and bringing them together is the most important thing. There is no such thing as a group in which one individual does everything. What matters is how all those individuals work together."

New wind tunnel

This season, Red Bull has reached what appears to be the end of the development curve of the current regulations, as the RB20 has failed to improve as the campaign has developed. 

It has allowed the constantly improving McLaren to get within 42 points in the constructors' championship, with Red Bull having made the most of the "tools" available to them.

"It's true that you always run into a limitation in everything you do," Waché said. "What we have created comes through the people and so in a sense you are always your own ceiling. 

"We work every day to raise that ceiling. If you use the tools in the right way, then at some point those tools become your ceiling."

With Red Bull having reached its "ceiling" based on the equipment it currently has, investment has gone into developing a new wind tunnel.

"Although in some respects we may be the best compared to others, we still need to improve other aspects," Waché pointed out. "The wind tunnel is one of those things. 

"That's why we are starting to develop a new wind tunnel for the next few years. The company is giving us that opportunity by providing money and we are very grateful for that. That's an investment in our performance in the future."

Whilst having the best tools is important, Waché has stressed that it is more important to have the best people, with it being down to the individuals to extract the most from the equipment.

"The people are always the most important thing, but as in any organisation, if you don't have the tools, the people can't deliver anything," Waché explained. 

"It's about the combination of both and Red Bull Racing's success depends on the combination of these two factors."