Jacques Villeneuve: I understand why Newey is leaving

1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve believes behind-the-scenes political maneuvering within the team led to Adrian Newey’s departure from Red Bull…

Jacques Villeneuve: “I understand why Newey is leaving. There is too much going on in the team that has nothing to do with sports. They win every race in a row, but that is no longer enough. Someone is adding fuel to the fire. When things are going so well, people sometimes create problems for themselves. This is exactly the case.

Newey knows how to surround himself with the right people. He is a great leader and works well with the riders. He is a visionary, you can win without him, so he can’t answer all the questions, but it’s better to have him in the team than not to have him, because for years he was the best.

Problems arose with the death of Dietrich Mateschitz. He kept the team together. But now that he is gone, the Red Bull pyramid has collapsed and an internal battle has begun. Snowball effect. The result is that it is now not just two parties pulling the strings, but there are more.”