Red Bull got off to a flying start in 2024 as Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez bagged 1-2 finishes in three of the first four races. Things behind the curtain, however, were not as rosy. Amid team boss Christian Horner facing allegations of inappropriate behavior, the team looked unstable. Rival team McLaren’s boss Zak Brown claimed this instability will soon show its consequences. That is because of the key personnel Red Bull lost in 2024.
The Austrian outfit is already out of contention for the constructors’ championship with one race remaining. The only silver lining is Verstappen punching above his weight to make the best of a struggling car and successfully defending his title. These ongoing problems could amplify in the next season, though.
“Red Bull has lost a lot of important people and I don’t think we’ve seen the full consequences of that yet. It’s a good team, but you also have to look at the culture and the atmosphere,” Brown told De Telegraaf.
ANOTHER ONE!
Will Courtenay is the third high-profile leaver from Red Bull Racing so far in 2024, following Jonathan Wheatley and Adrian Newey out the door
Is this the start of a Red Bull #F1 downturn? pic.twitter.com/gBtB4uC74U
— Crash.net – Formula 1 (@CRASH_NET_F1) September 24, 2024
What is more alarming for the team than just their loss of key personnel is that this talent has joined their direct rivals. Adrian Newey is awaiting the date of his joining Aston Martin in the first quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s former technical director Jonathan Wheatley will join Audi as their first team principal.
McLaren, on the other hand, has roped in Red Bull’s chief strategist Will Courtenay. Courtenay, who was a part of Red Bull since their Jaguar days, will join McLaren as their new sporting director. However, the papaya team will have to wait until mid-2026 for him to start working with them.
Another reason why Brown predicts tougher days for Red Bull
While Brown believes Red Bull will struggle in 2025, he does not expect them to see better days in 2026 either. The new era of regulations, which starts in 2026, will see an added emphasis on power units.
Red Bull, who have no prior experience in manufacturing their own engines, will break that trend with the new regulations. That, as per Brown, will once again play against his rival team.
“For them, 2026 will be an even bigger challenge. They will come with their own engine for the first time, and I can’t remember a team with their own engine being directly competitive in the first year. That is a big question mark,” he concluded.
Brown’s claim borrows reason from the learning curve involved in manufacturing power units. McLaren, who themselves have a reputation of being a top-of-the-shelf supercar producer, shy away from producing their own engines in F1. They instead buy the power units developed by Mercedes, who have pioneered the formula in the premier class of motorsport.
