Red Bull veteran granted early leave to take up McLaren F1 role

Red Bull Formula 1 veteran Will Courtenay has been granted permission to join McLaren as sporting director earlier than planned.

Reigning constructors’ champion McLaren announced in 2024 that it had signed Courtenay, though he was unable to exit his current Red Bull deal as head of strategy.

The original plan by Red Bull was for Courtenay to see out the remainder of his contract on gardening leave until the middle of 2026, after which he could begin as sporting director at McLaren.

However, ahead of the first pre-season test of the 2026 season at the end of January, Courtenay announced on LinkedIn that he has now started his role with McLaren.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Sporting Director at McLaren Racing,” he wrote.

“After 22 years at Red Bull Racing, the last 15 as head of race strategy there, I’m excited to say I’m now embarking on a new challenge, joining the McLaren Racing Formula 1 Team as sporting director.

“I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone I worked with at Red Bull.

“I made so many great friends there, and I hope I’ll still see many of you in the paddock. It was an incredible two and a bit decades.

“But now I’m looking forward to settling into my new role and team, and hopefully making plenty more new friends, as I do my very best to help McLaren continue its recent success in the coming years.”

Courtenay’s time at Red Bull included four title wins with Sebastian Vettel between 2010 and 2013, and a further four with Max Verstappen between 2021 and 2024.

He is the latest major departure from the Milton Keynes-based outfit, following Christian Horner’s exit as team principal midway through 2025.

Red Bull also lost legendary designer Adrian Newey to Aston Martin in 2025, while Helmut Marko lost his role at the end of last season.

Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has also been linked to roles at Williams and Aston Martin.