Newey, Chief Technical Officer at Red Bull, had missed several races after being injured in a bicycle accident during the summer break.
After hospital treatment and a fairly long recovery, Newey was finally fit enough to return to work in the F1 garage at the recent Turkish Grand Prix.
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said that Newey’s absence hadn’t hurt his team’s form too much, but made it clear that his return would be welcome as the team is fighting for the title fight with Mercedes at the end of the season.
In an interview with Sky F1 in Germany, Marko said that Newey is not yet fully fit, but was able to contribute at an important time for the team.
His return came on a weekend when Red Bull was caught by the very different track surface in Istanbul, which was struggling with understeer in the early race.
“We are well positioned across the board, but of course Newey is the figurehead,” said Marko when asked about the impact of Newey’s absence.
“At first we didn’t know how severe the injury was and he had to be operated on several times.
“But now he’s back. I don’t want to say that he is fully fit, but he is there for his job and immediately recognized the difficulties we had during the vote. “
Christian Horner, Team Principal Red Bull Racing, Helmut Marko, Consultant, Red Bull Racing, and Adrian Newey, Chief Technical Officer, Red Bull Racing, talk to Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 2.
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Marko said meetings with Max Verstappen were scheduled at his base in Milton Keynes so he and Newey could work on keeping the RB16B in the best possible shape for the final races of the campaign.
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Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said after Turkey that the team expected Mercedes to be ahead in the next race in Austin, before his team could hopefully stretch their legs in the higher venues of Mexico and Brazil.
“We know that the next race in Austin has been a Hamilton stronghold for several years,” he said. “But then Mexico and Brazil, hopefully the high altitude races in the past have been pretty strong for us. Then I’m really not sure what to expect from the last three.
“It will be fascinating, but you know we have to be at the top of our game.”
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