Miami [US], May 3 : Following the announcement that Adrian Newey is leaving Red Bull, Max Verstappen emphasized he is not considering leaving the team, stating that he has a "really strong group" around him who can take up the mantle.
This week, it was revealed that renowned designer Newey, who has worked with Red Bull for nearly 20 years and has won six constructor titles and seven driver titles to date, will be leaving the team in the first quarter of 2025.
When asked if he was worried about his own future at Red Bull in light of Newey's imminent departure, Verstappen said, "No, not right now.
"Like I said before, I think it's important to always have the quickest car, because that makes it a lot easier to think about what is right. At the end of the day, we have a really strong group of people that maybe aren't talked enough about in the press in general," Verstappen said as quoted by Formula 1.
"That's fine, they know what they have to do, they know what they are worth to the team, and they know how important they have been for the current success as well with the car. We just keep on working," the three-time World Champion said.
When questioned further about whether he would contemplate leaving Red Bull in the event if a competitor made the best offer, regardless of the money or opportunity involved, Verstappen said, "At the end of the day, it's not about money for me. I'm already very happy of course with what I'm having at the team. It's really important about having the quickest car, and of course a good environment. That's what we have currently, and that's also what I asked for. As long as the environment is right and we have the quickest car, then it's quite straightforward."
Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez offered his opinions on the matter, stating that while it was "not ideal," he thought it was "fair" that Newey had decided to move on because he "probably wants to do something else."
"Well, definitely with the experience he has, obviously he has contributed a lot of Red Bull philosophy. I assume he will cause an immediate impact wherever he goes, whatever he does," Perez said.
"He's a very clever guy, a very hard worker. With Adrian, working with him... he's much more than a designer; he can influence even strategy, set-up, he could have that influence on a race weekend. To have him around on race weekends was great," he added.
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