Red Bull ‘secret sauce’ theory emerges with impact of key McLaren signing assessed

Former F1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer believes it is “definitely possible” that Rob Marshall has taken Red Bull’s “secret sauce” with him to McLaren in F1 2024.

Having produced the most dominant season in F1 history in 2023, winning 21 of a possible 22 races as Max Verstappen eased to a third consecutive World Championship, Red Bull were hotly tipped to annihilate the opposition once again in F1 2024.

Rob Marshall arrival key to McLaren taking the fight to Red Bull?

Yet despite starting the season with four wins from the first five races – including three one-two finishes for Verstappen and Sergio Perez – Red Bull have won just three of the last nine rounds with the likes of McLaren , Mercedes and Ferrari striking back.

McLaren have emerged as Red Bull’s most consistent threat over recent months, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri claiming wins in Miami and Hungary respectively.

Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship has been slashed to just 42 points with 10 races remaining, with McLaren claiming only their second one-two finish since 2010 at last month’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

McLaren domination? An F1 2024 season without Max Verstappen and Red Bull

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McLaren sealed a major coup last year when they announced the signing of Marshall, who officially joined the team in January before being moved to the role of chief designer following the departure of David Sanchez earlier this season.

Marshall joined McLaren after an 18-year stint with Red Bull, where he worked closely with the likes of Adrian Newey over the course of a 17-year stint, playing an instrumental role in the team’s title triumphs with Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.

Asked about Marshall’s impact on the amplification of McLaren’s prospects, former Aston Martin and Alpine boss Szafnauer claimed that it is feasible for a single individual to point a team in the right direction technically.

He told the James Allen on F1 podcast : “It’s definitely possible for one person to come in and say: ‘The secret sauce at Red Bull was this, you should be looking in this direction.’

“That’s definitely possible.

“When you hear things like the aero performance is unlocked through some mechanical design elements of the car – and you know what those are and how those mechanical design elements actually unlock the performance – you can point that team in that direction to start looking here.

“It’s that direction that you then start looking in and find performance.

“Absolutely one person can can make that difference, especially when you have a massive rule change like we’ve had.

“We’re now into ground-effect cars where we weren’t before and if there was some mechanical elements of the car that others didn’t have, then it can happen.

“I’m not saying that’s what it was, but I do think that there’s performance to be had in that area that isn’t pure aerodynamics, but is an aero enabler.”

Marshall’s departure has since been followed by those of Newey, who announced in May that he will leave Red Bull in early 2025, and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, who was appointed team principal of the Audi F1 operation earlier this week.

In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com at last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix (bottom), Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché backed the team to recover from the loss of Newey.

He said: “It’s a challenge in the company and it’s a shame that he’s leaving.

“But, at one point, we move forward alongside… as an engineering team, what you see from outside is one aspect but, on our side, we already know [when] people leave the team, we have already organised ourselves with our team.

“We would prefer him with us, but that is not how it is. We don’t think in this way, we try to see what you can do for yourself and how you can improve. If we see some weaknesses, we try to improve and this is how we work – we concentrate on what we can do better.”

Asked if a new chapter is beginning at Red Bull, he replied: “For sure, but it’s not [new].

“Before, we had Peter Prodromou, who left after 2014. Mark Ellis [left after 2013].

“It’s the nature of the team, and the leaders who left – they were a leader in their area. But it’s a natural aspect of each organisation.

“For sure, [Adrian] was a big figure of the system. But, at one point, we give a chance to the younger, bright people to embrace this challenge, like I have now.

“Some people like Enrico [Balbo, head of aero], Ben Waterhouse [head of performance engineering], Craig [Skinner, chief designer], Paul [Monaghan, chief engineer], it is good for the people and for the team.”

Read next: Pierre Waché exclusive: Red Bull life after Adrian Newey and his disinterest in personal glory