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Red Bull will disappear into mediocrity in a short period of time after Adrian Newey's departure. That's the view of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher who thinks the Austrian team is heading for decline. The foundation of the Austrian team would have been shocked by the ace designer resigning from his position, according to him.
All of it continues to stem from the internal political battle that has plagued Red Bull. The battle first featured Christian Horner being investigated for alleged sexual misconduct, it was then followed by Max Verstappen publicly siding with Helmut Marko in Jeddah.
Speculation has been rife when it comes to the future of Red Bull's Christian Horner or even Max Verstappen on where they end up. With Adrian Newey leaving the team, there were reports that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had intensified his efforts to lure Verstappen away from the Austrian team.
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According to reports, Max Verstappen was even offered a whopping 150 million Euros by Mercedes to join the squad. Talking to Sky Germany, Ralf Schumacher feels that Adrian Newey leaving is the beginning of the end for the team at the front. According to the German, first it would be Verstappen, and then it would be the key engineers that would leave the team. He said:
"Red Bull will now disappear into mediocrity within a short time.”
He added:
“Max Verstappen will leave the team. Alongside other good engineers who are guaranteed to go elsewhere, some of them with Adrian Newey. Will it happen next year or the year after? But I am certain that he will leave Red Bull.”
Adrian Newey thanks Red Bull for the 19-year-old partnership
In the official press release announcing his departure from the team, Adrian Newey thanked the Austrian brand for the 19-year partnership. The ace designer joined the team in 2006 and since then, has been a crucial part of the setup.
He spearheaded the team's success from 2010 to 2013 and was also part of the growth curve that currently has Max Verstappen dominating the sport after the team's 7-year drought. In the press release, Newey said:
"For almost two decades it has been my great honour to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing’s progress from upstart newcomer to multiple title-winning team."
He added:
"However, I feel now is an opportune moment to hand that baton over to others and to seek new challenges for myself. In the interim, the final stages of development of RB17 are upon us, so for the remainder of my time with the team, my focus will lie there."
Whether Max Verstappen leaves the team or not is a question whose answer we'll get in due course. There is, however, one thing that is quite clear. The Austrian team will have the best car on the grid this year and should hold some advantage into the next year as well. It would be interesting to see if, during that time, Verstappen is willing to leave a fast car and move somewhere else.
