Red Bull have officially lost the last remaining staff member from their first F1 season

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The resignation of long-serving Red Bull F1 mechanic Ole Schack was far more significant than it appeared at the time.

It emerged in late March that Schack had quit Red Bull, citing a change in the team’s ‘working atmosphere’ as the reason for his departure. A member of the team for over 20 years, he worked on both Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen’s title-winning cars.

For so long, the Red Bull structure was the most stable on the F1 grid. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko had led the team from the beginning and Adrian Newey had designed the cars since 2006, the same year Jonathan Wheatley and Rob Marshall arrived.

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Ole Schack departure marks the end of an era at Red Bull

Marshall left in 2023 to become McLaren’s technical director, and Newey handed in his resignation soon after. Sporting director Wheatley was next to go when the opportunity to become Audi team boss materialised.

The most seismic development came last summer when Horner was sacked, and Marko left by mutual consent at the end of the season. Compared to these bombshell departures, Schack’s exit didn’t seem transformative.

However, The Times have now revealed that Schack was the last remaining member of staff from the 2005 season, Red Bull’s first year in F1 after they bought Jaguar. This is seen as confirmation of a cultural shift.

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There’s no denying that this is a profoundly important moment in Red Bull’s history. The team have pivoted towards a modernised leadership structure and are trying to change their identity under Mekies.

Red Bull were arguably the ‘villains’ under Horner, but the Austrian ownership grew tired of that reputation.

Ultimately, winning is what matters most, of course, and Red Bull must prove they can continue to do so after losing almost all the key pillars of their championship success.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen is one of the few legends who remains, but even he is considering his future.

While Verstappen’s primary grievances concern the new regulations, the uncertainty around Red Bull is also bound to weigh heavily, particularly after Gianpiero Lambiase, his ever-present race engineer, opted to join McLaren.

Performance in F1 is broadly tied to resources, so in that regard, Red Bull, who have far exceeded expectations with their first ever engine, should at least remain frontrunners. But the question is whether they can still operate at a title-winning level in the coming years.