The internal structure at Red Bull is undergoing significant change. The team that helped Max Verstappen secure four World Championship titles will, in its current form, no longer exist. Or rather, it arguably already no longer does. The departures of key figures like Helmut Marko, Adrian Newey, Christian Horner, and the announced future exit (by 2028) of race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase are only some of the major names who have left or are preparing to leave the Milton Keynes-based squad.
On the same day, the team confirmed the promotion of Ben Waterhouse to the role of Chief Engineer for Performance and Design, a position that will report directly to technical director Pierre Waché.
The intentions of Handkammer
This move is seen as another signal that Red Bull is actively reorganising its internal structure. However, according to recent rumours, the team could soon lose another important figure in its hierarchy: head of strategy Hannah Schmitz. Some speculation has even suggested a possible interest from Ferrari, although this scenario currently appears to be unconfirmed and unsubstantiated.
It is difficult to determine whether Ferrari has genuinely made any approach for Schmitz, and at this stage it is unclear which teams may actually be interested in her services. Speaking recently on the podcast Two Mechanics, former Red Bull mechanic Kenny Handkammer sparked significant discussion regarding the future of the team’s strategy department.
From our perspective, this may not have been his intention. In fact, during his appearance, he simply referred to rumours of her potential departure while expressing concern about the wider impact on the team’s structure: “There are rumours that Hannah Schmitz is also leaving. With all these high-level people leaving, how will the team be restructured? This is a real headache.”
Handkammer’s focus was not specifically on Schmitz herself, but rather on Red Bull as a whole. If this latest potential departure were to be confirmed, it would further underline the difficult and transitional period currently being experienced by the Milton Keynes-based team.
The ongoing reshuffle at Red Bull highlights the immense pressure and fragility inherent in maintaining a dominant position at the pinnacle of Formula 1. As key figures who defined an era of success move on, the challenge of building a new leadership core becomes increasingly complex. Whether the team can successfully navigate this transition or if the exodus will continue to hollow out their competitive edge remains the defining storyline of the current season.
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