F1 Miami Grand Prix: championship leader Max Verstappen says Adrian Newey’s Red Bull exit will not affect his future at team
- Newey, Red Bull said, will depart in April next year after almost two decades with the dominant racing team
- Verstappen says Newey’s departure should not inspire unnecessary drama and would have no impact on him ‘at the moment’
Leading Formula One driver Max Verstappen said he “would have preferred” for Red Bull’s famed design expert Adrian Newey to stay with the team, but downplayed any impact on his own future with Red Bull.
Verstappen said Newey’s departure should not inspire unnecessary drama and would have no impact “at the moment” on his status at Red Bull.
He also cautioned against any conclusions at this point.
“I think people in the press, they are making up a lot of things at the moment because they don’t understand how the roles were in the team,” Verstappen said. “I cannot deny that I would have preferred him to stay, just for how he is as person, his knowledge and of course what he would bring to potentially another team if he wants to join.
“If someone really wants to leave they should leave. That’s also what I wrote to him … If you think that is the right decision for yourself and your family, you have to do it.
“But I also really trust that the technical team we have outside of Adrian is very, very strong. They have basically shown that with the past few years with how competitive the car is.
“From the outside, it looks very dramatic. But I think if you know what is happening inside the team it is not as dramatic as it seems.”
Reports in Germany have linked Verstappen to a possible move to Mercedes, who are looking for a replacement with seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton set to join Ferrari at the end of the season.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has knocked back speculation about a meeting with Verstappen’s management after this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix while the Dutchman also brushed aside rumours by suggesting not even 250 million euros (US$268 million) would tempt him away from Red Bull.
But before departing, Verstappen opened the door to a move just a crack, teasing you should never say never.
“My future is with Red Bull,” declared Verstappen. “Money is not going to be a differentiator for me to go somewhere.
“I’m happy with what I’m earning right now.
“It’s about performance. It’s always about performance at the end of the day.
“At the moment, I can say that I want to stay with the team because I believe in the project that we have.
“But at the end of the day, in sports, but also in life, you never know what’s going to happen in the future.”
ESPN reported that Red Bull and technical director Pierre Wache agreed on a five-year contract at the start of this year.
