Whether you like it or not, the 2025 silly season is an active discussion in the F1 circles. We did not expect both Red Bull drivers to be dragged into the discussion, but thanks to the Christian Horner saga, the scenario has completely changed. The entire controversy has led to Horner being backed by the Thai majority stakeholders and the Brit planning to seize control of the brand. This has also led to Max Verstappen weighing his options and possibly leaving the team with multiple rumors linking him to Mercedes. However, ex-Ferrari boss Peter Windsor has made a bold claim stating it’s all dependent on Adrian Newey.

The F1 veteran believes Newey is anchoring Verstappen down as the Dutchman, if not the entire world, sees the British engineer’s value. His designs are immaculate and have produced winners in the past and are continuing to do so. Seeing how Newey carries the winning combination with him, Windsor, on his latest YouTube livestream, claimed wherever Newey goes, Verstappen will follow.

“To me, all this stuff about Max is completely and utterly related to Adrian Newey. He’s not stupid Max Verstappen and he will only move anywhere if either Adrian is not racing anymore or Adrian’s moved. If Adrian moves, it would be a completely different team anyway.– So the key to this is Adrian, always,” he said.

After discussing the hypothetical of Newey being disgusted enough by the whole Horner controversy that he leaves Red Bull and joins Mercedes, then Windsor confessed, “Then Max will go with him for sure.”

Bold claims from Mr. Windsor who has made Newey the ring leader instead of Verstappen. We can see the logic behind it too because when it comes down to it, Verstappen will need Newey-designed cars to showcase his talents. As it turns out, this isn’t an isolated opinion as well.

Johnny Herbert echoes Peter Windsor’s claims about Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen

The British former F1 driver put the theory of Max Verstappen to Mercedes into perspective. He revealed how there is a deal being brokered between the Dutchman and the German team. However, looking at it objectively, Herbert also came to the same conclusion as Windsor.

Herbert first revealed, “There is a lot of talk about a deal being very close to being brokered between Max and Mercedes.” After making this revelation, he asked an important question: “Does he [Max Verstappen] realistically feel that going to Merc gives him the chance to carry on the dominance he’s got at the moment with a car that’s going to give him a chance to win races?”

To solve this problem of fulfilling the desire to move and win together, he too came to the same conclusion. “If Adrian stays at Red Bull, then you stay at Red Bull. Let’s say if Adrian goes to Merc, you go to Merc. As a package, that would be a smart move. But it’s about what Adrian decides to do,” he concluded.

Read More: F1 Rumor: Max Verstappen’s Mercedes Move in Talks as Toto Wolff Reveals: “Max, Jos and I Have Talked About It and Everything Has Been Pronounced”

So the bottom line is to follow Adrian Newey. No matter the team and the current state of their car, the genius engineer can make it all better by waving his magic wand. He has done it at Red Bull twice already and he can do it anywhere. That is the general perception. Now we just wait and see how this plays out.