Will Courtenay, the head of race strategy at Red Bull Racing, is set to leave the team after 14 years in the role to become McLaren’s sporting director. This marks Courtenay as the third senior member to depart Red Bull in the last five months, coinciding with McLaren’s ongoing restructuring efforts.
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, stated, “Will’s experience, professionalism and passion for motorsport make him the ideal candidate to lead our 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.”
At McLaren, Courtenay will report directly to racing director Randeep Singh, with the objective of “helping grow the team’s sporting operations,” according to McLaren’s announcement.
Red Bull has chosen not to comment officially on Courtenay’s departure. However, a source from the team expressed, “After a long and successful service, being with the team since the Jaguar days, we are sad to see Will go but wish him all the best in this step up.” Courtenay will remain with Red Bull to fulfill his contract until mid-2026.
Typically, in such situations, teams enter negotiations that may result in an agreement allowing for an earlier transition.
The restructuring at McLaren began with the appointment of Andrea Stella as team principal in December 2022. It includes the departure of former technical director James Key in March 2023, alongside various changes that saw Peter Prodromou return as technical director overseeing aerodynamics. In June 2023, McLaren hired Rob Marshall from Red Bull as chief designer, effective January 2024.
Under Stella’s guidance, McLaren has improved significantly, advancing from a back-of-the-field position at the beginning of last season to becoming title contenders this year. Currently, McLaren driver Lando Norris trails Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 52 points in the drivers’ championship, while McLaren leads the constructors’ championship by 41 points over Red Bull.
Courtenay’s departure follows that of Adrian Newey, chief technical officer, and Jonathan Wheatley, sporting director. Newey arranged an early exit from his contract in April and will join Aston Martin in March 2025. Wheatley is set to join the Audi team, currently racing as Sauber, as team principal in 2025.
These departures at Red Bull come amid allegations of sexual harassment and coercive behavior against team principal Christian Horner, which he has denied. Two internal investigations conducted by Red Bull concluded that the complaints were unfounded.
Courtenay began his tenure with Jaguar’s F1 team when it was acquired by Red Bull at the start of 2005. He initially worked as a strategy engineer, later advancing to senior analyst, and was promoted to his current role in June 2010. Alongside principal strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz in recent years, Courtenay has played a crucial role in establishing Red Bull as a benchmark in race strategy.
Recently, Red Bull announced a reorganization in response to Wheatley’s departure. In this new structure, Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has been appointed head of racing, while senior strategy engineer Stephen Knowles has taken on a new role as head of sporting regulations, responsible for liaising with the FIA on non-technical rule matters. No information has been disclosed regarding potential changes to the strategy team at this time.
