Van der Garde warns Red Bull over reliance on Newey

Giedo van der Garde

(GMM) Red Bull must be cautious not to become over-reliant on technical boss Adrian Newey, according to former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde.

Newey is regarded as being among the greatest ever car designers in F1 history, but in recent years he has stepped away from the sport to design an America's Cup yacht and Aston Martin's Valkyrie supercar.

Van der Garde said the recent example of Paddy Lowe [who rode on Aldo Costa's coattails] should be a warning to Red Bull.

Adrian Newey

"Lowe was with Mercedes for many years," he told the RTL GP magazine, "but then he went to Williams and achieved nothing more."

Indeed, 57-year-old Lowe was a leading figure as Mercedes dominated the early power unit era, but Williams ousted him last year amid the struggling team's competitive debacle.

"You can see that it can be dangerous to always have the same people at the top of a team, because what is needed is that constant challenge," said van der Garde.

"You must always ensure that there are very good young people around the old guard. They will have to do that now at Red Bull," he added.