Red Bull promotes from within to replace top names

Feb.4 (GMM) Red Bull has followed through on its promise to plug the gaps in its team by promoting from within.

Amid the leadership turmoil and a notable performance decline in 2024, the outfit featuring Max Verstappen at the wheel lost a bevy of high-profile names – including Jonathan Wheatley, Will Courtenay, Lee Stevenson, and of course Adrian Newey.

Top bosses Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko insisted the gaps could essentially be filled with internal promotions and structural reorganisation.

“We are broad and well positioned,” advisor Marko told Auto Motor und Sport. “And we will fight for every employee.”

Indeed, Verstappen’s famous race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase – whilst keeping his original job – will also now serve as ‘head of racing’, with responsibilities across the entire team.

De Telegraaf newspaper believes Lambiase’s new role gives him “much more responsibility”.

France’s Auto Hebdo, meanwhile, reports that future Audi team principal Wheatley – previously Red Bull sporting director – will not be directly replaced.

Instead, strategy engineer Steve Knowles will take over many of those responsibilities, backed by others – with De Telegraaf claiming Red Bull managed to poach 60 new team members from rival teams amid the 2024 turmoil.