Brown attributes 'expected' setback of Red Bull to key departures

09:48, 03 May

Updated: 11:14, 03 May

byLudo van Denderen

Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, states he is not surprised by the significant setback Red Bull Racing is experiencing. However, what is surprising for the American it's how the Austrians downplay the cause of the setback.

One after another, key figures have been leaving Red Bull Racing lately. Coincidence or not, at the same time, the performance of the cars also declined. Brown believes this is connected, as McLaren has taken over Red Bull's benchmark role.

"Losing men like Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall, Jonathan Wheatley, and surely others, is not so surprising. And from what I read, Red Bull mainly says that they won't miss them. But it seems like they do. Rob Marshall now works for us as Chief Designer and is a very smart engineer. I see what he has brought to our team. He does fantastic work."

That doesn't mean Brown writes Red Bull off from the world title fight in 2025. This is particularly due to Max Verstappen, who can extract that bit more performance from his RB21 at times. According to Brown, Verstappen is not the only competitor for his drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

"Looking at the drivers, I see Max, George (Russell), and Charles Leclerc as the biggest competitors. And among the teams, at this moment, Mercedes."

To this, the American adds: "But someone like Verstappen, for example, should never be underestimated. An excellent driver, just look at his recent victory in Japan."