Red Bull F1 technical director Adrian Newey said Renault’s lack of performance in the turbo-hybrid F1 era had pushed him towards Ferrari, but the Honda deal has changed that.
After four consecutive F1 double titles from 2010 to 2013, Red Bull’s stronghold collapsed in 2014 when F1 switched from its aging V8 engine to a complex turbo-hybrid unit.
Mercedes F1 responded well to the new engine regulations and managed to dominate F1 for almost a decade. A re-motivated Adrian Newey then helped Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen win the drivers’ title for 2021 before 2022 under the all-new F1 regulations with a commanding performance from both champions.
But soon after the 1.6-litre V6 unit came out in 2014, ex-‘happy’ Adrian Newey started to get disillusioned with F1 again. A possible switch to Ferrari has often been discussed, thanks in part to Red Bull’s supplier Renault.
Renault struggled greatly in the early days of the new F1 engine format and a lack of power coupled with a chronic lack of reliability has led to a strained relationship between Red Bull Racing.
For these reasons, Adrian Newey began to consider a future in F1 and began working with four-time Olympic gold medalist Sir Ben Ainsley on other projects including the America’s Cup in sailing.
“At the time, I was clearly on the cusp of joining Ferrari. To be honest, I was quite disillusioned,” Newey explained to The Race.
“I was happy at Red Bull and didn’t want to change teams, but the only thing that made me even think about changing was being stuck with an uncompetitive engine.
“We had a supplier who seemed more interested in the marketing angle that comes with being in Formula 1 than in actual competitiveness.”
“If we have an engine partner who has produced an inferior power unit to our rivals, but shows a real desire and willingness to fix it and move forward, we will take it on.”
“But it’s much harder when you can’t recognize that you’re late and don’t seem interested in doing something about it. That made me lose motivation.”
Red Bull could not abandon its deal with Renault at the time as Mercedes and Ferrari refused to supply power units to its main rivals.
Only after the separation between McLaren and Honda did a potential new option for Red Bull open up. After Honda spent a year with Toro Rosso in 2018, Red Bull has also opted to run Honda’s F1 power unit.
When the partnership began, it was Adrian Newey’s “drive and motivation” that made Honda F1 better.
“I didn’t want to change teams and went into the road car project[Aston Martin Valkyrie]. She motivated me and kept me hooked for a while.”
“After signing the deal with Honda, at that point it was clear that we were a partner who maybe wasn’t at that level yet, but there was drive and motivation to get there. This changed the situation.”
Category: F1 / Red Bull / Honda f1
