https://www.autoracing1.com/pl/493003/f ... y-mistake/
Former Ferrari and Mercedes engineering chief Aldo Costa:
Costa was particularly critical of Newey’s early-season public criticism of Honda after Aston Martin’s Melbourne disaster.
“I’ll say this openly – it has never happened to me before that I found an attack from Newey so out of place, carried out in such a violent and public way, right at the beginning of a championship, against your own partner,” he said.
“You just don’t do that.”
The veteran engineer believes the episode exposed deeper leadership failures inside the organization.
“Unfortunately it highlighted a lack of management, a lack of leadership,” Costa continued.
“When they later declared ‘In November we went to Japan, we saw they weren’t using the same people from the old Formula 1 project, that they were behind on power…’
“In November? You should have known before November.”
Costa added that true leadership means protecting the group publicly during difficult moments. “In my opinion, a boss is not someone who says: ‘If we win, I win – if we lose, you lose.’
“You should never do something like that. If you’re a good leader, in my opinion, it’s exactly the opposite.”
“I’ve never worked with him, but I have enormous respect – he’s arguably the most successful person in Formula 1,” he said.
“I have boundless respect for his technical abilities.”
But he added: “Feedback from those who have worked with him confirms that his greatest talent is technical, with a slightly lesser one in organizational and managerial matters.”
Costa believes that is why Newey thrived at Red Bull Racing under a broader management structure.
“Therefore, he needs support – it’s important to find a team like Red Bull,” he said.
“At Red Bull, while he played a key role, he didn’t formally hold the title of technical director.”
