Red Bull chief admits that ‘upset’ F1 driver once ‘threw a chair’ at him

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Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan has been with the team since the start. Alongside Christian Horner, Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, he helped to build them into the title-winning household name they are today.

Monaghan started out in F1 back in 1990 with McLaren, where he had the opportunity to work with Ayrton Senna. He would spend 10 years there before a switch to Benetton.

Having served as Jenson Button’s race engineer, he was Fernando Alonso’s right-hand man following the transition to Renault. He’d left for Jordan by the time Alonso won the first of his back-to-back titles in 2005, but he did accompany the Spaniard for his first victory in 2003.

He’s been settled at Red Bull for nearly two decades, though his role has developed. He initially arrived as the head of race and test engineering, whereas now he’s the chief engineer.

At any given weekend, Monaghan’s task is to optimise Red Bull’s equipment and the output of their mechanics. Based on their record-breaking dominance in 2022 and 2023, he’s thriving in that position.

He’s been able to add names like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen to his CV during his time at Milton Keynes. There’s no indication at this stage that he could look to follow Newey and Wheatley out the door.

Paul Monaghan recalls chair-throwing incident as he defends Max Verstappen

Speaking to Planet F1, Monaghan addressed Verstappen’s attitude. The Dutchman came under fire for the manner in which he communicated with his team at the Hungarian Grand Prix last month.

His complaints about his team’s strategy were so severe that Horner ordered clear-the-air talks at the following race in Spa. He assured race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase that his criticism wasn’t personal.

Martin Brundle called for Verstappen to air his grievances privately, but Monaghan has tried to put things in perspective. He recalled one instance during his career where an ‘upset’ driver launched a chair at him.

It may be that he was referring to Alonso, who was still in the early stages of his career during their partnership. More importantly, though, Monaghan insists that it’s customary for drivers to ‘rant’.

“How he presents it I don’t mind particularly,” he said of Verstappen. “I’ve had drivers rant at me in the past. A certain Spaniard I remember threw a chair at me once! He was a little bit upset with me, probably rightly so.”

Red Bull insiders believe they’re losing someone just as important as Adrian Newey

Newey has resigned from his post at Red Bull, while Wheatley is leaving at the end of the year to serve as the team principal at Audi. But their exits aren’t related to Verstappen.

Instead, Newey felt unappreciated by Horner, who has emphasised the importance of his colleagues in the technical department. Wheatley, meanwhile, saw the opportunity for a promotion that wasn’t looking especially realistic at Red Bull.

Indeed, Horner has consolidated his authority following a behind-the-scenes power struggle. It appears he’s planning to continue in the role long-term.

Some Red Bull staff feel Wheatley matches Newey’s importance, but they’re set to promote from within rather than bringing an external replacement. In their statement confirming the Audi move, they said they would announce a new structure in due course.