McLaren poach Red Bull strategy chief as Horner loses another key asset

Red Bull have already seen key personnel Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley announce their departures

McLaren have announced the signing of Red Bull’s head of strategy Will Courtenay in another blow to Christian Horner’s outfit.

Red Bull, the dominant F1 champions in the last two years, have already seen their powers wane this season with McLaren now top of the constructors’ standings after a dramatic turnaround in 2024.

That downturn in domination for Red Bull has coincided with losing two key personnel in Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley – to Aston Martin and Sauber (Audi) respectively – at the end of the season.

Now Courtenay, an important cog in Red Bull’s efficient strategy department, will leave the team after 20 years and will join McLaren as sporting director. Courtenay will report to racing director Randeep Singh, though the exact start date of Courtenay’s arrival has not been disclosed.

"We are delighted to welcome Will to McLaren,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said.

“His experience, professionalism and passion for motorsport make him the ideal candidate to lead our F1 sporting function.

“We are now entering a key phase in our journey as a team, and we are confident that he will be a great addition to our strong leadership team as we strive to continue challenging for wins and championships."

Red Bull, in response to these departures, have already announced a restructure of their engineering department which includes a promotion for Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.

Will Courtenay will join McLaren from Red Bull (Getty Images)

McLaren, meanwhile, have emerged as frontrunners since ex-Ferrari chief Stella’s revamping of personnel at the Woking-based team. Rob Marshall, also ex-Red Bull, was brought in as chief designer in May 2023. Peter Prodromou has also impressed as technical director in charge of aerodynamics.

McLaren are now 41 points ahead of Red Bull in the teams’ standings, while Lando Norris is chasing down drivers’ championship leader Max Verstappen.

After Norris’ win in Singapore on Sunday, the gap between the top two is 52 points with six races – and three sprint races – left.

After a four-week autumn break, F1 will return with the United States Grand Prix in Austin on 18-20 October.