Looking from the outside, it’s the drivers that collect most of the plaudits for the success of the team. However, all Formula 1 entities are aware of the driver’s and engineers’ contributions and no one can credit one without the other. This is exactly why Dr. Helmut Marko intervened to silence Fernando Alonso, who was taking a dig at Sebastian Vettel in 2012.
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In 2012, Sebastian Vettel won his third championship in three years with Red Bull. This was surely a frustrating scenario for all championship contenders. One such contender, Alonso, was driving for Ferrari at the time and credited all of Red Bull’s success to its British engineer Adrian Newey.
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Newey is a genius in all regards who has won countless championships with multiple teams. But when Alonso said his real championship rival is Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, Helmut Marko was quick to reply.
“Our Spanish adversary does not seem quite up to date with his knowledge of the quality of Herr Vettel,” he said.
“Yes, Vettel races in a Newey car, but he (Alonso) seems to have missed that we put two of them (Newey cars) at the start, and at the end it is always Vettel who wins.”
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The Red Bull advisor spoke in favor of the German wonder boy, Vettel. However, his comments completely dragged Vettel’s teammate at the time, Mark Webber, through the mud. Webber wouldn’t have taken kindly to the comment by Marko. Especially with his two race wins and his admission: “I’m there (in F1) for myself”.
Regardless, this scenario is similar to when Lewis Hamilton spoke about Adrian Newey in the 2022 season.
Lewis Hamilton produced a similar moment as Fernando Alonso, speaking about Sebastian Vettel and Adrian Newey in 2022
When asked about the dominance of Max Verstappen in the 2022 season, the Brit chose to praise the man outside the car instead of the man inside it.
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Adrian Newey, Grand Prix of Canada, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, 09 June 2013. (Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images)
Speaking to the media, Hamilton said, “It’s more that I’m impressed with Adrian Newey and his team. I think it is a great team; they’ve generally had really great cars for some time”
These comments, similar to Alonso’s comment, only tell us how incredibly talented Adrian Newey is. However, this doesn’t mean the drivers driving the cars aren’t equally talented.
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WATCH THIS STORY: Red Bull and McLaren Quarrel Over 2022 F1 Cars
Are we going to see a spell of dominance from Red Bull and Adrian Newey in the coming years?
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