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Gianpiero Lambiase is the latest key figure at Red Bull Racing confirmed to be leaving the team. With his departure, F1 Oversteer takes a closer look at eight prominent members of staff who are no longer part of the Milton Keynes squad.
Gianpiero Lambiase has long been a cornerstone of Red Bull Racing, serving as Max Verstappen’s race engineer since 2016 and playing a pivotal role in the Dutchman’s run to four world championships.
Alongside his work with Verstappen, Lambiase was promoted to head of racing in 2024 following Jonathan Wheatley’s decision to leave the team for Sauber.
News of his departure emerged during the four-week break caused by the cancelled Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, with McLaren confirming the British-Italian will take up the role of chief racing officer no later than 2028.
Lambiase is expected to remain at Red Bull until the end of the 2027 season, a move that is likely to intensify speculation over Verstappen’s future, amid ongoing uncertainty and dissatisfaction with the current regulations.
The iconic race engineer is the latest in a string of high-profile departures from Red Bull, with F1 Oversteer taking a closer look at eight key figures who are no longer part of the team.
Read More: Max Verstappen race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to join McLaren in 2028
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Christian Horner marks most high-profile Red Bull exit
Arguably the most seismic shift among Red Bull’s key departures was the dismissal of team principal and CEO Christian Horner, bringing an end to his two-decade tenure with the Milton Keynes outfit.
Horner had led Red Bull since its inception, joining in late 2004 and overseeing a challenging debut season in 2005. He would go on to play a defining role in transforming the team into one of Formula 1’s modern powerhouses, delivering 130 grand prix victories, six constructors’ championships and eight drivers’ titles.
His exit came in the aftermath of the 2025 British Grand Prix, following reports that Verstappen’s management had issued an ultimatum amid months of internal unrest. At the time, speculation mounted that the Dutchman was weighing up a move to Mercedes after a turbulent 18-month period, during which Horner faced allegations of sexual harassment from a female employee, claims he was twice cleared of.
In the wake of his departure, Horner appeared in season eight of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, stating: “I don’t believe that the Verstappens were responsible in any way,” before adding: “I think this was a decision that was made by Oliver Mintzlaff, with Helmut advising from the sideline.”
Adrian Newey jumps Red Bull ship for Aston Martin role
Prior to Horner’s sacking, the most high-profile departure came when chief technical officer Adrian Newey announced he would be leaving Red Bull in early 2025.
Having built a legendary career designing championship-winning cars for Williams and McLaren, Newey joined the Milton Keynes outfit in 2005 and became instrumental to its success. His designs underpinned Sebastian Vettel’s dominant run from 2010 to 2013, as well as Max Verstappen’s title-winning era between 2021 and 2024.
Following his exit announcement, Newey was placed on gardening leave, with his next move initially unclear. It was later confirmed he would join Aston Martin as managing technical partner. After arriving at the Silverstone-based team in March 2024, he was promoted to team principal in 2026.
However, his tenure in charge proved short-lived, lasting just two races before he stepped down after a difficult start to the season with the AMR26.
Jonathan Wheatley joins Red Bull management exodus
Just three months after Adrian Newey confirmed his exit, Red Bull were dealt another significant blow as sporting director Jonathan Wheatley also announced he would be leaving the team.
Wheatley joined Red Bull as team manager in 2006 before earning a promotion to sporting director in 2018. In that role, he was instrumental in refining the team’s pit stop operations, helping set a then-world record at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix with a remarkable 1.82-second stop.
He also became a prominent figure during the dramatic 2021 season, frequently heard on team radio challenging then race director Michael Masi over regulatory decisions. This culminated in the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Wheatley played a key role in the lobbying that led to the race being restarted on the final lap, a moment that ultimately secured Verstappen’s maiden world title.
Wheatley left Red Bull in 2025 to take up the role of team principal at Sauber, ahead of the team’s transition to Audi ownership the following year. After an encouraging start, it was announced prior to the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix that he would step down from the position due to “personal reasons.”
Helmut Marko felt ‘relief’ after leaving Red Bull
With Red Bull still reeling from the dismissal of Christian Horner, the team was dealt another major blow just months later when motorsport advisor Helmut Marko announced he would step down.
Marko’s association with Red Bull dates back to 2001, when the late Dietrich Mateschitz appointed him to oversee the junior programme. He remained a key figure following Red Bull’s takeover of Jaguar in 2005, spending two decades shaping the team’s driver academy and acting as one of Mateschitz’s most trusted allies.
The Austrian played a pivotal role in identifying and nurturing some of Formula 1’s brightest talents, including Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz.
After confirming his decision to leave during the 2025 winter break, Marko said he felt it was the “right time” to step away following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, admitting he felt a sense of “relief” at no longer having to travel the world.
Who is Helmut Marko’s greatest Red Bull Junior Team product to race in F1?
McLaren has poached more than Gianpiero Lambiase since 2023
As Gianpiero Lambiase prepares to swap Red Bull for McLaren, it is far from the first time the Woking-based outfit has successfully lured key figures away from Milton Keynes.
Rob Marshall was the first member of Red Bull’s inner circle to make the move, leaving his role as chief engineering officer to become McLaren’s chief designer in 2023. Having joined Red Bull in late 2006, Marshall played a central role in the team’s rise into one of Formula 1’s dominant forces. His pedigree stretches back even further, contributing to championship-winning campaigns with Benetton in 1994 and 1995, and later Renault’s title successes with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006.
McLaren’s resurgence in recent years has only underlined Marshall’s value. Since his arrival, the team has claimed back-to-back constructors’ titles in 2025 and 2026, along with Lando Norris’ maiden drivers’ championship, highlighting the significant impact he has made behind the scenes, and the scale of Red Bull’s loss.
Marshall was later joined at McLaren by Red Bull’s long-serving head of strategy, Will Courtenay, who departed at the end of 2025 to take up the role of sporting director. Courtenay’s journey began with Jaguar in 2003 as a systems engineer, and he remained with the team following its transition into Red Bull in 2005, eventually moving into strategy.
Over the next two decades, he established himself as one of the sharpest tactical minds in Formula 1, earning promotion to head of strategy in 2010. His influence proved instrumental in Red Bull’s run of four consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ titles from 2010 to 2013. In his later years with the team, Courtenay shared responsibilities with Hannah Schmitz, who has since stepped into the role at the start of the 2026 season.
Beyond Lambiase, another recent departure is chief designer Craig Skinner, who left Red Bull with immediate effect in February 2026 after nearly two decades with the team. Skinner was a key figure behind the scenes during both of Red Bull’s dominant eras, most notably serving as chief designer on the RB19, widely regarded as one of the most dominant cars in Formula 1 history.
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