Adrian Newey sees the field in Formula 1 getting closer and closer together. Yet Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer has a warning for F1 fans: soon the field will be blown apart again.
“People do lament that the results have been dominated, fortunately in our case by us, but by one team during these rules to date. But that can obviously change. It’s definitely closing up. And who knows what will happen next year? One of our rivals could easily overtake us,” Newey stated in a conversation with Motorsport.com.
Newey warns F1 fans ahead of 2026
Max Verstappen won three of the first four Grands Prix in 2024. Yet Ferrari, in particular, are closer to Red Bull in 2024. Carlos Sainz, for instance, has already won the Australian Grand Prix and the Spaniard also struck in Singapore a few months earlier. In most races, Ferrari are still slightly short, but Frederic Vasseur also stated earlier that the gap to Red Bull has halved.
Newey thinks it is only logical that this gap has narrowed. On the contrary, the Brit states that he would have been surprised if the gap had remained the same. “I think it’s going to be a much tighter fight for us this year than it was last year,” stated the top designer, who has seen his RB20 start from pole position every Grand Prix so far.
Red Bull Racing’s CTO warns about 2026. Then, there will be a big change in the regulations for the chassis as well as the engine. “The chances of that blowing the grid apart have to be pretty significant,” Newey concluded.