2024 Formula 1 Season thread

[Glideslope]

Hmmm a culture that is created outside of Red Bull. Just like the situation surrounding Horner, and the wild wild stories surrounding Newey, and the vilification of super Max. Perpetuated by many, even when there are no facts. Just like what you are doing here.

It‘s tough news. I feel it as well. We have to say thank you for all his contributions. People move on in F1. He probably had some help in this decision as well. Power struggles in F1 are a blood sport. I can understand his motives.

Who really knows how long Max will stay in F1 with or without Adrian anyway? I’m sure we will have a good idea very shortly.

Were we 100% sure Newey would develop a rocket out of the gate in 2026? Not really.

We continue to be supportive in 2024 and 2025. We wish Adrain well in whatever he chooses. 2026 will be a crap shoot at best for every team.

 

[Harry Haller]

Kinda makes sense.
Ferrari is within striking distance of RB.
He could put them over the top.
Blank checks are very persuasive.

 

[Glideslope]

Good read......

As Newey leaves, who is really behind Red Bull F1 dominance?

As Adrian Newey's departure from Red Bull has come into view, so too has the question of how involved he's been in the generation of cars that have dominated F1's current ground effect era. Mark Hughes explains why that's a simplistic question without a black and white answer

www.the-race.com

 

[laptech]

Good read......

As Newey leaves, who is really behind Red Bull F1 dominance?

As Adrian Newey's departure from Red Bull has come into view, so too has the question of how involved he's been in the generation of cars that have dominated F1's current ground effect era. Mark Hughes explains why that's a simplistic question without a black and white answer

www.the-race.com

The thing missing from that article is that yes there will be very good designers in all facets of the car but it usually takes a special individual to take a good design to an extra special design. Designers can design but not every designer has the eye to make their design that something special.

I have no idea if the sequence in the film Rush is based on truth or not but there is a scene in there where Nikki Lauda is with a group of car engineers/designers to build a car that can knock seconds off a lap time. Lauda is no car designer but he knows what is required to make a car fast. This scene is what gets me reminding of Newey, someone who can take a design and make it better (with the assistance of the original designers of course).

Maybe Newey is the kind of man that makes other designers go 'You know what, I never thought of that' and that is maybe what appeals to other F1 teams.

 

[CWallace]

Kinda makes sense.
Ferrari is within striking distance of RB.
He could put them over the top.
Blank checks are very persuasive.

If Newey goes to Ferrari, it will not be for the paycheck since ARAMCO is said to have offered Newey a ridiculous amount of money to go to Aston Martin.

As The Race's article notes, it is Newey's innate sense of how an F1 car works dynamically is what makes him so effective. He can guide a team's technical department to maximize the performance of their design. Which is why teams want him - not because he can single-handedly design the "perfect" car, but he can take a good car and help make it "perfect".

So if he goes to Ferrari, I expect he would do what he has done at Red Bull - not take over their technical department, but examine the chassis and identify where it is weak and help correct that.

 

[Glideslope]

Miami SF-24

 

[Glideslope]

If Newey goes to Ferrari, it will not be for the paycheck since ARAMCO is said to have offered Newey a ridiculous amount of money to go to Aston Martin.

As The Race's article notes, it is Newey's innate sense of how an F1 car works dynamically is what makes him so effective. He can guide a team's technical department to maximize the performance of their design. Which is why teams want him - not because he can single-handedly design the "perfect" car, but he can take a good car and help make it "perfect".

So if he goes to Ferrari, I expect he would do what he has done at Red Bull - not take over their technical department, but examine the chassis and identify where it is weak and help correct that.

Precisely. Most like to think of Newey as simply a genius aerodynamicist. The article and comments touch on how the dominance of the RB18,19,20 is really about the suspension he designed (Not nullifying Max.) The aero would not be anywhere near as effective without it.

I’ve always felt the front and especially the rear suspensions have been the greatest design elements of the RB18,19,20.

 

[laptech]

When I read that article about Newey and the rest of RB designers it got me thinking, if the article is trying to make a point of just how good the other designers are then why did RB hire Newey? Aerodynamic chief Enrico Balbo, chief designer Craig Skinner, head of performance engineering Ben Waterhouse and chief of car engineering Paul Monaghan are all given a shout out in that linked news article but yet if all those guys are as good as the author of the article makes them out to be then why the need for Newey who the author states by Newey's own admission that he does not do much with regards to the design of the car.

Yes all those guys are excellent designers in their own right but without Newey would they have got what it takes to have made RB a winning car without Newey?

 

[CWallace]

Builds on the article they published:

 

[cyb3rdud3]

It‘s tough news. I feel it as well. We have to say thank you for all his contributions. People move on in F1. He probably had some help in this decision as well. Power struggles in F1 are a blood sport. I can understand his motives.

Who really knows how long Max will stay in F1 with or without Adrian anyway? I’m sure we will have a good idea very shortly.

Were we 100% sure Newey would develop a rocket out of the gate in 2026? Not really.

We continue to be supportive in 2024 and 2025. We wish Adrain well in whatever he chooses. 2026 will be a crap shoot at best for every team.

Well the funny thing is that as the rumours around Newey are debunked; other than he is leaving exactly by the time I predicted a few pages ago. Then he also has conditions to prevent going to other teams. So now that part is over, the rumour mill around Max is picking up.

It’s like they can’t beat them on track they are trying it off track 🤣🤷‍♂️

But hey people like a good gossip and make up situations. 🤷‍♂️🤣

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Precisely. Most like to think of Newey as simply a genius aerodynamicist. The article and comments touch on how the dominance of the RB18,19,20 is really about the suspension he designed (Not nullifying Max.) The aero would not be anywhere near as effective without it.

I’ve always felt the front and especially the rear suspensions have been the greatest design elements of the RB18,19,20.

I think there is some truth in him seeking a position within Ferrari as he’s met with Vasseur in London in the last 2 weeks according to sources and BBC news and Autosport have just said he has negotiated ‘out’ of the clause preventing him joining a rival team for 12 months. He’ll be free to have a seasons work before the start of the 2026 season. It’s a bitter blow for Red Bull and it’ll be interesting if Max is still keen to serve out the next 4 years of his contract if the car has potential to be uncompetitive and having a £150m offer from Mercedes. All fun and games but I think Newey will either head to Ferrari or retire. He’s certainly put the work into getting out of his non-compete covenant which is promising for F1 fans wanting him to stick around a while longer.

Newey free to join F1 rival in 2025, Red Bull warned of “unmitigated disaster”

www.autosport.com

 

[Harry Haller]

Miami SF-24 View attachment 2373555

That has room for a few more decals.
Apple could supply some emojis.

 

[Glideslope]

I think there is some truth in him seeking a position within Ferrari as he’s met with Vasseur in London in the last 2 weeks according to sources and BBC news and Autosport have just said he has negotiated ‘out’ of the clause preventing him joining a rival team for 12 months. He’ll be free to have a seasons work before the start of the 2026 season. It’s a bitter blow for Red Bull and it’ll be interesting if Max is still keen to serve out the next 4 years of his contract if the car has potential to be uncompetitive and having a £150m offer from Mercedes. All fun and games but I think Newey will either head to Ferrari or retire. He’s certainly put the work into getting out of his non-compete covenant which is promising for F1 fans wanting him to stick around a while longer.

Newey free to join F1 rival in 2025, Red Bull warned of “unmitigated disaster”

www.autosport.com

He has met with Lawerence as well. Ferrari will need to be creative with "Time in Country." I don't see Adrian having a desire to spend most of his time outside England. I agree that having a stint at Ferrari during a career is still seen as the pinnacle for the most part.

I'm sure Amanda will have input. He has time to compromise with her......

Max's situation will be on the front burner in the circus now......

 

[Glideslope]

That has room for a few more decals.
Apple could supply some emojis.

Meh, I'm not a fan of the HP Sponsorship. I get it, but it's worse than VISA for me. Even if one wanted to attempt link HP with CAD with the cars, nobody is modeling their cars on an HP box.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

He has met with Lawerence as well. Ferrari will need to be creative with "Time in Country." I don't see Adrian having a desire to spend most of his time outside England. I agree that having a stint at Ferrari during a career is still seen as the pinnacle for the most part.

I'm sure Amanda will have input. He has time to compromise with her......

Max's situation will be on the front burner in the circus now......

Not sure if he’d be willing to spend a bit more time abroad now the kids and grandkids are older. His wife wasn’t going to miss out on being there and rightly so. We’ll see as Italy is only a couple of hours away anyway.

Max is very lucky in that his ability will overcome any disadvantage the car brings so potentially the grid is his oyster. He’d be winning now in a Ferrari or a Mercedes apparently so going to Mercedes shouldn’t be an issue. In all seriousness though I think he’ll ride it out at Red Bull though as it’s all he knows and it’s his best and easiest option for success. He may not want the challenge of adapting into a new environment at this point.

 

[CWallace]

Ferrari will need to be creative with "Time in Country." I don't see Adrian having a desire to spend most of his time outside England. I agree that having a stint at Ferrari during a career is still seen as the pinnacle for the most part.

Not sure if he’d be willing to spend a bit more time abroad now the kids and grandkids are older. His wife wasn’t going to miss out on being there and rightly so. We’ll see as Italy is only a couple of hours away anyway.

I would expect Ferrari is willing to be flexible and support "remote work" and such. It has been said that Newey had a lot of freedom with where and how much he worked at Red Bull and my guess is Ferrari would not want to "chain him to a drawing board" in Maranello.

Max's situation will be on the front burner in the circus now......

Max is very lucky in that his ability will overcome any disadvantage the car brings so potentially the grid is his oyster. He’d be winning now in a Ferrari or a Mercedes apparently so going to Mercedes shouldn’t be an issue. In all seriousness though I think he’ll ride it out at Red Bull though as it’s all he knows and it’s his best and easiest option for success. He may not want the challenge of adapting into a new environment at this point.

I agree that Max would win with any of the Top Four teams - he's that good and he's that disciplined so I think he would mold the team around him to make it happen.

That being said, I do agree with you I believe he will stay at Red Bull unless the situation really becomes untenable for some reason (like Marko leaving and no longer serving as a buffer between Max/Jos and RB management or Horner becoming such a distraction that it schisms the team). While 2026 is a "fresh slate" in many ways, it stands to reason Red Bull should be in a generally very good position going into it.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I agree that Max would win with any of the Top Four teams - he's that good and he's that disciplined so I think he would mold the team around him to make it happen.

I think he’d face the same problems the other greats have faced and don’t believe he’d be better at getting the team around him than more experienced drivers. Right now we’ve got some great drivers on the grid, him included, but he’s able to produce a second a lap advantage and don’t for one second believe that’s purely down to a sudden ability to be better than his closest rivals. He’s that good for sure, but so are others in lesser machinery. I think a pedestal has been created, much like when Lewis was dominating and as soon as that package is not quite front of the grid, out come the doubters. Max will have that at some point as he gets older and the luck of the package moves into another drivers favour. I want to see Max being challenged again and see a World Champion under pressure, it’s one thing we are missing and may be overlooking under the increasing tally.

 

[Glideslope]

Not sure if he’d be willing to spend a bit more time abroad now the kids and grandkids are older. His wife wasn’t going to miss out on being there and rightly so. We’ll see as Italy is only a couple of hours away anyway.

Max is very lucky in that his ability will overcome any disadvantage the car brings so potentially the grid is his oyster. He’d be winning now in a Ferrari or a Mercedes apparently so going to Mercedes shouldn’t be an issue. In all seriousness though I think he’ll ride it out at Red Bull though as it’s all he knows and it’s his best and easiest option for success. He may not want the challenge of adapting into a new environment at this point.

Good point on the children and grandchildren. I hadn’t equated that.

 

[laptech]

The problem with Ferrari and Newey is that Ferrari tend to require their designers to be based in Italy and I do not think Newey will want to spend the majority of his time in Italy.

 

[Apple fanboy]

The problem with Ferrari and Newey is that Ferrari tend to require their designers to be based in Italy and I do not think Newey will want to spend the majority of his time in Italy.

I think in the past that was true. But more and more meetings and collaborations are done remotely these days. I doubt that would be a deciding factor.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The problem with Ferrari and Newey is that Ferrari tend to require their designers to be based in Italy and I do not think Newey will want to spend the majority of his time in Italy.

Yeah but he’s softened on that perspective though hasn’t he now?

 

[CWallace]

I do not think Newey would be "in charge" of Ferrari's entire technical department, but instead would be working with Enrico Cardile [Technical Director Chassis and Aerodynamics] and Enrico Gualtieri [Technical Director Power Unit] so those two would be doing the "heavy lifting" day to day at Maranello with Adrian working mostly remotely with, say, one week a month or so in Maranello plus whatever select races he chooses to attend (possibly when Ferrari is running new major upgrades).

 

[Glideslope]

I do not think Newey would be "in charge" of Ferrari's entire technical department, but instead would be working with Enrico Cardile [Technical Director Chassis and Aerodynamics] and and Enrico Gualtieri [Technical Director Power Unit] so those two would be doing the "heavy lifting" day to day at Maranello with Adrian working mostly remotely with, say, one week a month or so in Maranello plus whatever select races he chooses to attend (possibly when Ferrari is running new major upgrades).

Perhaps you might have a future with Eddie Jordan negotiating the fine details of Adrian’s Contract? I’m ready to sign……………

 

[iLog.Genius]

So, attending the remaining 2024 races, but only working on the HC Project until early 2025?? I was under the impression he wanted nothing to do with it? Looks like he has stopped contributing to the RB21 immediately? This will be interesting if true.

Can join another team in 2025 to work on a 2026 design or retire. That sure leaves allot of time to negotiate. Would have loved to have been a fly inside that Challenger flight to Miami. It sounds like they gave him what he wanted.

Tough call. I’m not as convinced of retirement as I was yesterday.

Not sure retirement is the decision. If retirement was a real consideration, either nothing would have been said and Newey would just play out the rest of the season and retire or announce that he was retiring at the end of the season. To take gardening leave ASAP to be able to work on a 2026 car was the biggest thing to take away from all of this. We have to assume Newey looked for a workaround in his contract or requested this himself.

The problem with Ferrari and Newey is that Ferrari tend to require their designers to be based in Italy and I do not think Newey will want to spend the majority of his time in Italy.

I think Ferrari has "loosened" up a bit on how they want their outfit to be run and I think the signing of HAM changes a lot. That's not to say HAM is going to come in and do whatever he wants, but you would have to assume that HAM will still be respectful of the culture and history of Ferrari in F1 but at the same thing have a bit more freedom. I would also make the same assumption if Newey ends up at Ferrari. At the end of the day, this is the time for Ferrari to be back in the spotlight as a winning OEM and if that means giving up on how they typically do things, Ferrari should be on board.

 

[laptech]

.......

I think Ferrari has "loosened" up a bit on how they want their outfit to be run and I think the signing of HAM changes a lot. That's not to say HAM is going to come in and do whatever he wants, but you would have to assume that HAM will still be respectful of the culture and history of Ferrari in F1 but at the same thing have a bit more freedom. I would also make the same assumption if Newey ends up at Ferrari. At the end of the day, this is the time for Ferrari to be back in the spotlight as a winning OEM and if that means giving up on how they typically do things, Ferrari should be on board.

The thing is, if Ferrari do sign Newey and he is allowed to have minimal time in Italy, how is this going to sit with the rest of the design team who was probably asked to relocate to Italy? Especially if there are some who wanted to work in their own country and fly to Italy from time to time but were told 'Sorry, if you want the job you must move to Italy'. Will the other designers be happy if Ferrari give Newey special treatment just so they can get him in the team?. There is no doubt Newey brings something special to the team he works for. He did it when at Williams, they became an all conquering team until he left in 1997. He's done it at Red Bull, they became an all conquering team and I therefore have no doubt the next team he moves to will do the same.