Ex-Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari has insisted that Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey is the man behind Red Bull’s success, due to him “making such perfect cars”.
Since Newey joined the Austrians in 2006, he’s designed six championship-winning cars for the team, with that number set to become seven given that Max Verstappen leads the Drivers’ Championship by 99 points.
It’s difficult to imagine Red Bull without Newey, given how integral he is to everything the Milton Keynes-based side do.
Alguersuari is convinced that Newey is the reason why Verstappen is currently leading the standings so comfortably, with him being a “brilliant gentleman”.
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“It’s Newey.” Alguersuari said to AS.com.
“It’s amazing that this brilliant gentleman is still making such perfect cars.
“Although I would say it’s not just him, but the team, in all its areas. Red Bull is the best team in the history of Formula 1 because they make no mistakes, there are no cracks in their structure and approaches. Everything fits.
“They never make mistakes, they nail the strategies, the tyre changes, the mechanics are the best in the paddock. Building a winning team is critical, it’s not just about making a great car.”
Alguersuari was part of the Red Bull family at the sister team from 2009 until 2011, before being replaced by Daniel Ricciardo in 2012.
The Spaniard has seen and experienced first-hand how hard drivers are pushed by Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko, in the hopes of achieving greatness.
Many drivers struggle to deal with how hard they’re pushed by Marko, but Alguersuari admits that Verstappen is different.
“All of us who have been at Red Bull have been machines, that’s the school we had.” Alguersuari added.
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“Either you win or you die. It was all a matter of surviving or dying, and we all felt that maximum pressure from Dr. Marko.
“There were calls telling us, “If you don’t win the next race, you won’t run with us anymore.” We were always on a knife edge.
“His [Verstappen] father taught him how to win races, he has been trained in this way. There was no happiness. They [Jos Verstappen and Red Bull] pushed him so far that they ended up making a perfect driver.”