Mark Webber has a lot to thank Adrian Newey for given his success at Red Bull Racing in Formula 1.
The Australian spent seven seasons at Red Bull before retiring from the sport in 2013.
Webber has now shared his reaction to Adrian Newey leaving the team on Instagram and has unsurprisingly been very complimentary about the 65-year-old.
It was all the way back in 2005 that Red Bull announced that Newey would be coming in from McLaren and even then it was recognised what a coup that was.
The first car that Newey designed at Red Bull was the RB3 and that coincided with Mark Webber’s arrival at the team.
The 47-year-old achieved a podium at the European Grand Prix in his first year with the manufacturer but it wasn’t until 2009 that Red Bull were a race-winning outfit.
Newey’s influence on the car was clear to see at that point and it wasn’t long until Red Bull started their first period of domination.
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From 2010 to 2013 when Webber would eventually leave the team, Red Bull won the Drivers’ and Constructors Championship.
Newey had absolutely nailed the regulations during this period of Formula 1 and while Webber was a fantastic support act for Red Bull at that time, it was Sebastian Vettel who truly benefitted.
The German was ruthless and he and Webber had some notorious clashes during that time together as both drivers realised they had a golden opportunity to dominate the sport.
The pair crashed into each other at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix with Vettel trying to take the lead from Webber and that handed McLaren a one-two finish on that occasion.
Arguably the most famous incident occurred in Webber’s final season in Formula 1.
Webber was leading after the final round of pit stops at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix and both drivers were issued the Multi 21 instruction, telling them to turn their engines down and maintain position.
Vettel was having none of it and after some incredible racing between the two drivers, the German took the lead and the victory, leading to one of the most awkward post-race debriefs in the sport’s history.
Despite those controversies, Webber still had a very successful period at Red Bull and much of that was down to Newey’s influence.
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Posting on social media after the news broke, Webber said: “Adrian’s [Newey] impact on those who worked with him at RB was insane.
“Professionally and personally countless people better off today, me included.”
The most likely successor to Adrian Newey at Red Bull now appears to be Pierre Wache.
However, Ferrari are also keen on signing the 49-year-old alongside their pursuit of Newey.
That would be a disaster for Christian Horner who will want to prevent his best staff members from following Newey out of the door.
The team is facing the end of an era with Newey’s departure if they can’t replace him sufficiently.
But, if Red Bull can go into the 2026 season when the regulations change as the team to beat, then the team will deserve huge credit for moving on from losing one of the most successful designers in Formula 1 history.