Red Bull chief takes swipe at Mercedes for trying to poach lead designer

Helmut Marko revealed that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff made a move to sign one of Red Bull’s key men

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko says Mercedes made a last-ditch attempt to sign Adrian Newey as the Silver Arrows desperately look to haul in the deficit to Formula 1’s dominant team.

Newey, the lead designer behind Red Bull’s rapid RB19 car this season, last week extended his deal with the Milton Keynes outfit.

Yet F1 Insider report that the 64-year-old received a phone call from a Mercedes assistant, who formerly worked at Red Bull, about opening talks regarding a potential move to Toto Wolff’s team.

But Newey, who has been at Red Bull since 2006, rejected the offer and Red Bull’s special advisor Marko seemed to confirm the report while speaking at the Miami Grand Prix.

“Mr. Wolff may not seem to have the full confidence in his own people to fix the problems with their car,” said Marko.

Mercedes recently announced a job swap in their department, with James Alisson returning to his role of technical director and Mike Elliott taking up the position of Chief Technical Officer.

Wolff labelled the W14 a “nasty piece of work” over the weekend in Miami, where George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and sixth respectively.

Mercedes, the constructors’ champions in F1 from 2014-2021, are pinning their 2023 hopes on a highly-anticipated upgrade at the next race at Imola in the hope it reduces the gap to Red Bull out in front.

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko (far-right) says Mercedes made a last-ditch attempt to sign Adrian Newey (centre) (Getty Images)

Red Bull, meanwhile, are expanding to become an engine manufacturer for the new set of regulations in 2026, partnering with American automotive giant Ford to form Red Bull-Ford Powertrains.

Newey, who is seen by many as the main reason behind Red Bull’s supreme RB19 this season given his experience in ground-effect aerodynamics, will play an important role as the division launches in Milton Keynes.

“Adrian has been such a fundamental part since almost the beginning,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said.

“He covers a lot of a lot of areas and, to have the depth of his experience and knowledge to draw upon, and the way he works with the young guys, it’s great.

“He’s just as motivated as he always [has] been. Obviously, he has a great interest in what’s going on in Powertrains, and Red Bull Advanced Technology as well. So, he covers the three pillars of the campus in Milton Keynes.”