"To be honest, he was not at every race last year" - Adrian Newey's successor on how Red Bull works without the aero wizard

Adrian Newey's successor, Pierre Wache, feels Red Bull will be able to function just like before, as the aero wizard was not a regular presence in the races anyway. Much has been made and written about the impact that Newey had on the team in the ground effect era.

Many cars produced by Red Bull in this era have proven to be dominant, and the credit has gone to the British designer, who also had prior experience of working on the ground effect cars. Red Bull team princial and boss Christian Horner, however, opened a can of worms last season when he claimed that the credit went not only to Adrian Newey but also to the entire technical team led by Pierre Wache. With Newey's departure, Wache and his role at Red Bull have now come into the limelight.

Wache has been credited with a more day-to-day role while Newey would have systematic inputs in certain areas. Talking to Sky Sports, Wache revealed that the team was starting to limit the access to information that Newey has. More importantly, the Frenchman stated that the aero wizard has not even been a frequent attendee in the races either. He said,

“At the moment, currently, as he has the potential to go to a competitor – like every leaver, it doesn’t matter about your name – there is a risk to pick up up some IP [intellectual property] on the current car – and the future car even more. We are being very careful. I learned that from him!"

He added,

“It’s a loss. When you lose somebody as big as him, clearly his experience will be missing but we’ve tried to work without him in some areas for some time already. We know that we have good people and the future will tell us how difficult it will be or not, but we are prepared. To be honest, he was not at every race last year so it doesn’t change fundamentally for us.”

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We've tried to work without him in the past: Red Bull director on Adrian Newey's departure

When questioned about what the team will lose when Adrian Newey finally leaves, Pierre Wache said that the inputs of the aero wizard will be a major loss. Wache did however stress on the fact that Red Bull has tried to work without him in the past as well as how Newey has had a limited involvement in the team's day to day work.

Even in the future, Red Bull will try to take on this challenge. He said,

"His experience, mainly, and for sure his head. He’s somebody smart and very sharp, we will lose that aspect. But we’ve tried to work without him in the past and we will try to continue. It’s a massive challenge and we will take over this challenge.”

Red Bull is going through an interesting phase at the moment. Far too many people have seemed to write them off since the confirmation of Adrian Newey's departure. The next year or so is going to be interesting for Pierre Wache. He will have the spotlight now that perhaps should have come with their success in the last couple of years. But now, more than ever, he cannot afford to miss a step and risk the team going on a downward trajectory.