Newey explains Red Bull rear wing issue: "That's what was catching us out"

Problems with the rear wing in Austin, problems with the rear wing in Mexico. In the battle for the F1 world title, there suddenly seem to be concerns at Red Bull about a very important part on the cars of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Problems over

Adrian Newey, the designer of the Red Bull, says in the F1 podcast that there is no reason to panic. "We had a problem in Texas which was completely unrelated to the problem we had here," Newey explains. "Here we used the same wing we normally run in Monaco and Hungary, because of the low air density everyone runs maximum downforce here. The fact you get to terminal velocity, it's carrying more loads than it would do in Hungary. That's what was catching us out. We tried to understanding it and make quick modifications between FP3 and qualifying and it seemed to do the trick," Newey said. 

Newey has long been known as one of the top designers in Formula 1. Coincidentally, it has been 25 years since Damon Hill became world champion in a Newey-designed Williams. Since then Newey did win world titles (including with Vettel), but it could (maybe should) have been more. "In fairness to ourselves, we have had a chassis that has been very very competitive since 2014, but we've not had the power unit to go with it. This year we have a power unit with Honda," he added. 

Glad when it's over

This year, Newey and his Red Bull are back in contention for the title. "It'll be even more enjoyable when it's done," he laughs.