Red Bull technical director: Newey 'irreplaceable'

Red Bull's Technical Director Pierre Wache has lauded car designer Adrian Newey as 'irreplaceable' in Formula 1.

Newey is arguably one of the most successful car designers in the history of F1, having joined Red Bull in the 2006 season.

In 2014 he stepped back from his main role in the F1 to take up other projects within the Red Bull group, which included a submarine commissioned by the late Dietrich Mateschitz.

This promoted Wache to technical director in 2018, but Newey has still been an important part of the teams competitiveness.

"He’s irreplaceable, yes – you cannot replace him!" said Wache to Motorsport.com.

"On a daily basis, he’s not part of our process. He’s more coming from the sideways and trying to help us or challenge us on different aspects of the team – it could be mechanical design, aero or vehicle dynamics."

Wache: Newey challenges us

Wache explained how Newey is often used as a 'sound board' for bouncing off ideas within Red Bull, which enables them to unpick his extensive motorsport experience.

"It’s for sure. And after, he’s challenging us. I tell you I would say more challenging than [agreeing]," said Wache.

"I think it’s good. Because when you have a step back, you see also different things. He has a different background than all of us. And also, he has some knowledge that we don’t have. Because we didn’t experience that [yet]."