Red Bull brain drain exposes them brutally at Silverstone

During the podcast, host Rick Houghton and guests veteran motoring journalist, F1 expert and Middle East-based commentator, Damien Reid, plus GRANDPRIX247 Editor Jad Mallak, discussed how Red Bull lost their way during an afternoon they could've done with the likes of Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley in Max Verstappen's garage.

Forget the high-profile departure of Adrian Newey, who has yet to unleash a beast at Aston Martin. The brain drain from Red Bull's once almost unbeatable team was no more apparent than on Sunday at Silverstone.

While the RBR team principal, Christian Horner, has gone to great lengths to play down the impact of the high-profile departures since the brain drain began at Milton Keynes early last year. But on Sunday, he and everyone in the paddock received a massive wake-up call.

There was Rob Marshall's McLaren team scoring another one-two. The former Red Bull engineering guru is now Chief Designer, leading the technical army at Woking, and steering them to a second successive F1 Constructors' title with Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri destined to be World Champion this year, as not even Max Verstappen's immense talents can match their great package in the unwieldly RB21.

The headline of this piece trumpets: Red Bull brain drain exposes them brutally at Silverstone. How so? Without doubt, one of Formula 1's greatest feel-good stories has to be Nico Hulkenberg on the occasion of his 239th race start finally scoring his first podium in Formula 1. And the man behind that, and possibly the German's best form in memory, is Sauber F1 team principal, Wheatley.

During the podcast, Rick reflected on Hulkenberg's race: "Brilliant strategy from Sauber. They predicted the weather perfectly, knew exactly when to bring him in, and timed his release into clear air. The tyre choice was perfect. Pretty much no one put a foot wrong. It was great to see one of my favourite drivers, in terms of his attitude, commitment, and passion, get that result."

Damien weighed in, pointing a finger of approval to the former Red Bull strategist and all-around wizard: "We have to give a lot of praise to Jonathan Wheatley. He’s transformed Sauber in such a short time. I’m not saying the power balance is shifting from Red Bull just yet.

"But when you look, Adrian’s gone to Aston Martin, Jonathan’s now at Sauber, and you can see the effect. Sauber’s pit stops have gone from average to outstanding. They’ve nailed their execution under pressure. That strategy call yesterday was fantastic. Jonathan has been a massive asset.

"As for Nico, these days he’s always in the mix. He drags that car through the field time and again. By the end of the year, it’ll be interesting to see who’s gained the most places over races. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s him. He qualifies lower down, but he keeps a cool head in chaos and brings it home. Everyone enjoyed seeing him on the podium yesterday.

Rick chipped in with stats: "Just to give you some numbers, over the past two races, Hülkenberg has gained 27 places. That’s remarkable."

Jad added: "I agree with everything Damien said, especially about Wheatley. He whipped that team into shape. You can see his presence missing on the Red Bull pitwall. Their recent operational and strategic errors make that clear. They’re also feeling the absence of Adrian Newey and Rob Marshall. You can see Marshall’s influence on McLaren’s car.

"As for Hülkenberg, it’s about time. That podium was well-earned. He’s lost a bit of his qualifying sharpness. Don’t forget, in his rookie season, he put that Williams on pole in Brazil in the wet. But now he makes up for it in the race with experience.

"He was defending from Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, and Hamilton usually has something extra there. But Nico didn’t put a foot wrong all race long. The Sauber isn’t the second-fastest car, but they earned that podium with strategy, execution, and Nico’s driving. A fantastic result," concluded Jad.

Last year, in the wake of Horner’s sexting scandal that rocked the team from early 2024, Verstappen's father Jos publicly warned that Red Bull were heading for collapse. His words are increasingly prophetic.

Verstappen senior told reporters at the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix: “There is tension here while he [Horner] remains in position. The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”