Red Bull is restructuring its technical department: it’s time for a clean sweep and a fresh start

After several seasons of watching its top talent slip away like marbles on a polished floor, Red Bull is putting its technical house in order. The Austrian team has officially announced a series of internal changes, with the clear goal of strengthening a structure that has been severely tested in recent years.

A hemorrhage hard to ignore

For indeed, at Red Bull, departures have come in rapid succession at a pace that's almost dizzying. Key figures—both historical and strategic—have jumped ship: Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, Jonathan Wheatley, Rob Marshall, Will Courtenay, and Craig Skinner. Suffice it to say that the beating heart of the team has gradually lost several of its main arteries.

And as if that weren't enough, another major blow was recently confirmed: Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen's race engineer—and the true mastermind behind the radio communications—will be packing his bags at the end of 2028 to join McLaren. This is a loss both symbolic and operational, given how central his role was in the intricate mechanics of race weekends.

Ben Waterhouse Promoted to Technical Director

Faced with this situation, Red Bull isn't sitting idly by. Ben Waterhouse is seeing his scope of responsibility expanded effective immediately. Now Chief Performance and Design Engineer, he assumes overall responsibility for two fundamental pillars: the design of the cars and their on-track performance.

A cross-functional, strategic role, almost old-school—where they still value people capable of seeing the big picture while keeping their nose in the data. Waterhouse will continue to report to Pierre Waché, the team's technical director.

Having joined in 2014 from BMW Sauber and served as deputy technical director at Toro Rosso, he knows the team inside and out. Since 2017, he has already been leading performance engineering. Suffice it to say, he's no spring chicken.

Reinforcements on the way with Andrea Landi

Another notable move: Andrea Landi will join Red Bull on July 1 as Head of Performance, reporting to Waterhouse. An experienced professional, he has previously worked at Ferrari and Racing Bulls, where he held high-level technical roles.

This hire follows a fairly clear strategy: combining internal promotion with an infusion of fresh blood, to avoid becoming insular—a well-known pitfall in the paddock.

A structure in need of repair to stay at the top

In its press release, Red Bull emphasizes better integration between departments and a commitment to accelerating the development of technical solutions. In short: restoring fluidity to the organization, where successive departures may have created some visible cracks.

The team also mentions its long-term ambitions and its desire to continue attracting the best talent in the paddock. A statement that was almost expected… but which, in the current context, sounds more like a necessity than mere rhetoric.

It remains to be seen whether this reorganization will be enough to keep Red Bull at the top of the hierarchy. Because in Formula 1, well-designed organizational charts aren't everything—the car still has to deliver. And that, as always, is the ultimate arbiter…