What makes a winning Formula 1 team? While it’s true that every team wants the best driver on their side, it is just not the full picture. There are a lot of things that need to go right for a team to dominate the sport like Red Bull and Max Verstappen are dominating right now. One important element responsible for Red Bull’s dominance is the legendary F1 car designer Adrian Newey, who created the all-conquering RB19.

And with all the behind-the-scenes action that’s going on at Red Bull, both Max Verstappen and Adrian Newey’s futures in the team have been uncertain. Verstappen has been rumored to leave Red Bul since the events of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where a unique clause emerged within Verstappen’s contract. It has been reported that the world champion might leave the team if the motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, was let go by the team. And only days later, Toto Wolff commented that he would love to welcome Helmut Marko at Mercedes.

Other teams like Ferrari and Aston Martin are also looking to take advantage of the Red Bull and Verstappen situation by trying to poach Adrian Newey. Aston Martin would be hoping that if Max leaves the team, it might prompt Newey to leave the team as well.  However, former Ferrari boss, Peter Windsor, thinks that the situation might be a bit different between the two. He believes that instead of Verstappen’s decision affecting Adrian Newey; it is the other way around.

He recently said on the Cameron F1 podcast, “Well, I think the premise of everything being based around Max is wrong. I think everything is based around Adrian Newey. And Max will make a decision based on whether Adrian Newey stays at Red Bull or maybe goes somewhere else, which I don’t think he will. And I think he will stay at Red Bull so I think Max will stay at Red Bull. That’s my gut feeling, but I may be wrong, but that’s what I think is the case so forget about Max; it’s all about Adrian where Adrian is Max will be, and vice versa actually.”

To clear some of the background noise, Max Verstappen recently spoke about the importance of Adrian Newey within Red Bull.

“There is nobody like Adrian:” says Max Verstappen

In a recent conversation with Motorsport-Magazin.com, Verstappen explained why Newey is such a big deal for Red Bull. He highlighted that Newey is not one to be influenced by offers from other F1 teams. Instead, he’s remained loyal to Red Bull, even renewing his contract as recently as last year. But what makes Adrian Newey so special?

According to Verstappen, Newey is more than just a brilliant car designer. He sees him as a mentor, especially for the up-and-coming younger talents on the team. He said, “I see Adrian more like this: you have new talents coming up, and then you just have Adrian. He is like a mentor. A lot of them have questions they can ask him and things they can discuss with him.”

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Verstappen also highlighted that Adrian Newey is someone who can be easily replaced by a new designer. “There is nobody like Adrian,” he added. “That’s also the beauty of the fact that everyone is different and everyone achieves success in a different way. So no, you can’t replace Adrian, because there is only one Adrian.“

READ MORE: Christian Horner Addresses Adrian Newey’s Exit After Rumored Talks With Ferrari Reach ‘Advanced Stage’

Will Verstappen see out his current contract with Red Bull till the end of 2028? Or will he follow Adrian Newey if the legendary designer does indeed decide to call it quits with Red Bull?