Red Bull: Newey Fears Standardization of Single-Seaters
Reflecting on the regulatory changes that will shape the 2014 season, Adrian Newey acknowledges that they are part of the game but fears that they will ultimately make all the cars similar.
The 2014 season will, as every year, require engineers to contribute to creating and developing the best possible car with the resources they have. But next year, the changes will be such that they should provide even more challenges. Asked about these developments, Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s technical director, accepts these modifications but fears the accumulation of restrictions.
« I think it’s part of the game, and I don’t worry about the fact that we invest and get pushed back, » he told our colleagues from Autosport. « We were all aware that the F-duct would probably be banned at the end of the season, and it seemed likely that the double diffuser would be banned at the end of the current season as well. You decide whether you want to invest heavily in a technology knowing it might be banned fairly quickly or if you focus on other areas that will be more sustainable. »
The regulatory situation on the technical front is modified every off-season and seems to add limits to the already existing ones: « I think what is more damaging is that most of these things, when they are banned – the blown exhaust is a very good example – are actually just additional restrictions. »
The Briton fears a standardization of the cars that would change the nature of Formula 1: « It’s a shame and there is a danger, if the rules continue to become more restrictive, of eventually reaching the point where the cars will be more or less designed by the regulations. You will have, in fact, GP1 cars where the differences are made with the engines and the drivers. For me, that’s not Formula 1. »
According to him, Formula 1 is a whole: One of the biggest differences between Formula 1 and almost all other sports, with perhaps an exception for the America’s Cup, is this combination between man and machine. You can have an excellent car with an average driver and you won’t win, a great driver with an average car and you won’t win. You need both. He does not fail to point out that the recent successes of his team are the result of a winning alliance: I think the public appreciates that and you have to say that, for the moment, if you judge this season and last season, the mix seems good.
