Wache denies feeling ’pressure’ of replacing Newey

Pierre Wache has denied that he is feeling the "pressure" of effectively replacing the great Adrian Newey as Red Bull’s top technical guru.

Although Wache was already technical director before Newey decided to leave, team figures have repeatedly pointed out that Red Bull should continue to remain competitive because of the 49-year-old French engineer.

Wache admits that Newey has already been excluded from Red Bull’s technical meetings going forwards.

"It doesn’t matter about your name," he said at Imola. "The risk of picking up some current IP on the car, and the future car even more, makes us take very careful steps."

Indeed, 65-year-old Newey is now hotly tipped to start working at Ferrari sometime next year - in order to have an influence on the all-new car for 2026.

It might be said that the pressure on Wache’s shoulders to fill the big boots left behind by arguably the most famous F1 designer of all time is now massive.

"We have pressure every day in our profession," Wache told journalist Gaetan Vigneron and the Belgian broadcaster RTBF at Imola.

"I don’t see it like that. It’s just an important person who is leaving and we have to adapt.

"We had already worked on the team to take this aspect into account but it doesn’t change much for me if it is said that I am replacing him. What matters is how we deliver performance on the track and how we work together to achieve the best result," he added.