Verstappen underlines: 'Newey leaving should not change the car'

The departure of Adrian Newey at Red Bull Racing is still causing quite a stir. The British engineer was for a long time an important figure in creating all the cars that made the Austrian team perform well, but the Formula 1 team have not been able to rely on his expertise for several months now. According to Verstappen, there should be no correlation between the worse performance on track, and the departure of Adrian Newey. He said on media day ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit.

Verstappen's last race victory dates back to the Spanish Grand Prix in June. But even before that, his team and he regularly struggled with the Red Bull's handling. According to Verstappen, however, this has nothing to do with Newey's departure. "Normally not. Since that it was announced that he was leaving, it's been more difficult. But it shouldn't matter if someone is leaving on the spot that immediately the performance drops because the car has always been the same. Normally not," he told GPblog among others.

Although Newey is no longer involved in the Formula 1 project, Verstappen still has occasional contact with Newey. "Well, I mean the last few weeks not so much, but yeah, of course he has moved office as well at the factory, but whenever I do see him, we have a good relationship so that's never been a problem," Verstappen added.

However, the Dutchman does not ask Newey about problems with the car. "No, and I think it would also be a bit unfair to do that," concluded the three-time world champion.

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