AR3-GP wrote: ↑25 Sep 2024, 17:30
Cassius wrote: ↑25 Sep 2024, 17:19
That is just correlation and I am not sure it can all be contributed to personnel. It is just natural and the effect of being outdeveloped with limited options to correct in a wind tunnel / cfd constraint team.
They still lead the WDC, they went into a wrong development direction and are correcting it as good as the budget cap allows. If they don't close the gap to McL next year and start as 3rd or 4rd team, then I would agree with you.
It doesn't matter what the reason is or whether a single person or regulation is to blame. That is just noise. The simple fact is that the "dream team" at RBR is no more. Newey, Marshall, Courtenay, Wheatley, and many more. This is Red Bull's Mt. Rushmore. This can be compared with the departure of key figures during the Schumacher-Ferrari era and the Mercedes era from 2014-2021. Trying to find someone to blame doesn't matter. What matters (for Max, for example), is that when these kinds of paradigm shifts take place within a team, nothing good comes from it. History has shown this many times in Formula. Red Bull is not immune. The figures that remain will have to prove themselves all over again.
The strength of top teams has always been not just the key personnel, but also the depth of talent, and the processes in place. I am sure the sporting and strategic directorship will relatively easily be filled by GP and likely Hannah resp. It would be a mistake if RB isn't prepared for team leads leaving to other teams in this budget cap era. They must have the right goverance in place to manage these transitions.
I agree Newey departing will not help and might make it more difficult to recruit young talent, but all the main full time engineers are still where they are.
Not sure history is the best predictor. I think a new history is being written in this budget cap era. Teams are closer than ever. All top teams have lost key personnel, including RB in the past (think Fallows). Driver becomes maybe even more important in eras of converging teams. Hence Toto and Aston publicly trying to steer Max away from RB.