Adrian Newey may have exaggerated when he claimed the RB10 was six months away from being ready to hit the track, considering Red Bull has just two until pre-season testing, but the design guru admits the new regulations are challenging him and his team.
Speaking at the Autosport awards, the Briton joked that next years turbo-charged V6 engine in particular was causing them a headache.
“I think from our perspective it is somewhere between mild panic and crisis management,” he said on-stage, adding: “Next year’s regulations are a huge change. It is a very complicated powertrain, and for many teams including ourselves it really is a big challenge.
“Reliability could be a big issue, and it is far from clear how the three engine manufacturers will perform compared to each other.
“We have got the aerodynamic changes too. So it really is a complete clean start. We would have been quite happy to stay with the [existing] regulations.”
Red Bull are no strangers to debuting their cars later than most and have often skipped the first test as a result. Newey hinted that it might be the same next year, but expects everything to come together at the last minute.
“At the moment we all feel it is going to be remarkably different and we are about six months off being prepared for the start of the season.
“But that is the nature of F1 and somehow or other it always seems to be alright on the night. Let’s see.”
