Verstappen: departure of Newey not the cause of Red Bull's form dip

Max Verstappen has diminished the connection between Adrian Newey's departure from Red Bull Racing and the team's decline in competitiveness.

Adrian Newey, confirmed to join Aston Martin next year, announced his resignation as Red Bull's chief technical officer in May. Since then, his involvement with the team's Formula 1 car has been steadily reduced.

Despite Verstappen winning four out of five races while Newey was still actively involved, the reigning champion's competitive edge, particularly against McLaren, saw a notable decline beginning at the Miami Grand Prix in May. This advantage has further eroded during the second half of the year.

When questioned about a potential link between Newey's exit and Red Bull's recent struggles, Verstappen remarked:

"I wouldn't say so, but of course when it [Newey's departure] was announced, that's when it started to go a little bit wrong for us. But I think it started to go wrong for us a little bit before but we didn't really see that at the time. I personally don't think it's related -- that is not to be negative towards Adrian -- but I don't see it as something related but something that creeped in over time."

The Italian Grand Prix saw Verstappen equaling his season's worst finish in sixth place, which narrowed the championship points gap with title rival Lando Norris to just 62 points, with eight rounds remaining.

Post-race at Monza, Verstappen admitted that overtaking Norris in the title race felt "unrealistic" given his current form. However, heading into this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen remains optimistic that insights from Monza can drive Red Bull's improvement.

"We still have a lot of work to do, but in a way Monza was positive to learn more about the car, basically," Verstappen said. "Now, it takes time to make the car better. Understanding our weaknesses I think we did, and now it is about trying to find solutions for it. I also know it is not coming in one or two weeks from when you understand your problems. I hope that from now onwards we can just look ahead and try to be better and not like in Monza."

As the season progresses, all eyes are on Verstappen and Red Bull to see if they can overcome these challenges and mount a serious championship challenge against Norris and McLaren.

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