Red Bull stunned after key Max Verstappen loss to F1 rivals

A rival F1 team have poached a key figure from Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team.

Ahead of their F1 entry in 2026, where they will take over Sauber, Audi have been recruiting personnel from rival teams, poaching two senior Ferrari engine chiefs Wolf Zimmermann and Lars Schmidt.

According to The Race, Audi have now hired a lead mechanic from rivals Red Bull, Matt Caller, Verstappen’s long-serving number one mechanic.

The British mechanic worked at Red Bull since 2015, moving up to the No 1 role in 2022 and has assisted Verstappen during his title winning campaigns.

Caller is expected to take on a senior role at Audi, and become their chief mechanic alongside a former Red Bull colleague.

Audi’s F1 team starts to take shape

Caller is not the first mechanic to leave Red Bull for Audi, with Lee Stevenson moving to Sauber at the start of last year after an 18 year tenure at his former team.

Both Caller and Stevenson worked closely with Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley, who left Red Bull last year after nearly two decades as their team manager and sporting director.

Speaking last time out at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Wheatley said: “The whole project is gaining in momentum. I'm working on organisational structures.

"We're looking at the right time to implement those for next year, when we will do some, I think, significant, but not ruthless, changes to our structure."

Alongside Wheatley, former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto also leads the Audi F1 project, responsible for development activities at Hinwil and Neuburg an der Donau.

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