Why Red Bull should worry about the departure of their Chief Strategist

26 September at 13:00

Ludo van Denderen

Apart from a confirmation from Red Bull Racing's press department to GPblog, there has been no official message from Milton Keynes (yet). There's been no press release thanking Will Courtenay for his work at the Austrian racing team, currently in the position of Head of Race Strategy. When Christian Horner speaks to the international media in Austin in a few weeks, he will stress how important Courtenay was to the team and say thank you. Because one thing is beyond doubt: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez's team will miss the Brit greatly.

Courtenay will move to McLaren by mid-2026 at the latest. Another high-profile departure from Red Bull Racing, which has already seen Rob Marshall (now McLaren), Adrian Newey (to Aston Martin), Jonathan Wheatley (to Sauber) and Lee Stevenson (to Sauber) leave in the past 12 months. Although team boss Horner previously indicated that Red Bull has enough good people on board to replace leavers, the number of people in key positions announcing a farewell does start to reach high numbers.

Courtenay praised within Red Bull

For instance, Courtenay is praised for his decisions during Grands Prix. His strategies have already earned Max Verstappen many wins. With 20 years of loyal service, the Brit knows the ropes of Formula 1 like no other and also knows exactly how things work within Red Bull.

He formed a golden duo with Hannah Schmitz, Head Strategy Engineer at Red Bull. Schmitz will stay at Red Bull, but it remains to be seen how she performs without Courtenay by her side. You don't easily find a person with his experience again.

McLaren will be happy that Courtenay is joining the team as sporting director. As became painfully clear at times in 2024, the British racing team can still improve in the strategy department. Courtenay is the perfect person to lead the team through that development process. Moreover—and this should certainly not be underestimated—McLaren has ensured that it has become stronger and its main rivals weaker.

It is still unknown how Red Bull Racing will react to Courtenay's departure. McLaren secretly hopes to bring the new sporting director to Woking earlier than mid-2026, but it will surprise no one if the Austrian racing team doesn't agree.