Marshall impact at McLaren praised: 'Red Bull could have reacted smarter'

Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher has claimed Red Bull underestimated the impact Rob Marshall had on the team with the Briton impressing as McLaren's chief designer.

Marshall joined McLaren as part of what has turned out to be an exodus of high-profile senior engineers from Red Bull, with Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley among the big-name departures.

Since then, the Woking-based outfit has flourished while Red Bull has taken a step backwards and speaking to Formel1.de, Schumacher has suggested the Milton Keynes-based squad has underestimated Marshall's impact.

"He is doing a great job [at McLaren]," said the former F1 race winner. Questioning whether Red Bull should have fought harder to keep Marshall and that this may have impacted Newey's decision to leave, Schumacher added: "You could assume that Adrian would eventually say, 'I don't want to do this anymore'."

Red Bull's drop in form trails back to last year's Miami Grand Prix, having gone from dominating the championship to falling behind McLaren and Ferrari at least in the pecking order.

Newey's departure was announced soon after that event, with the technical guru joining Aston Martin this month.

On Newey, Schumacher explained: "He is extremely ambitious, but also a great family man who gets his whole group involved and then spends time with his people at home.

"I think that makes a big difference. You have to give everyone space, but you also have to bring everyone together and bring out the best in them. And he is incredibly good at that."