Key Red Bull F1 figure absent again as exit rumours swirl

Red Bull

Key Red Bull F1 figure absent again as exit rumours swirl

Could Red Bull be set to leave yet another key member of staff?

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 3 July 2026 20:27

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A Red Bull F1 star linked with a move away from the team was absent at the British Grand Prix.

Red Bull have lost plenty of star names over the past couple of years, and are attempting to rebuild in a new era of power unit production for them, in partnership with Ford.

And chief engineer Paul Monaghan - largely considered to be the mastermind behind Red Bull's RB19 which claimed 21 of 22 race victories in 2023 - has been thought to be a large part of that rebuild.

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However, reports in British media last week revealed that Monaghan was looking to leave the team, and instead join Cadillac, the new outfit who have been scrambling around at the back of the pack.

The reports suggested that, due to the formal exit process and the need to serve a period of gardening leave, Monaghan is unlikely to begin working for the American squad before the second half of 2027, but that he is becoming the latest key figure to depart Red Bull.

Not one to shy away from paddock gossip, Sky's Ted Kravitz gave the latest on the situation live from the paddock at Silverstone, where Monaghan was absent.

Paul Monaghan misses British GP

"I’ve wandered to Red Bull Racing, where I am missing one of their top engineering brains, one Paul Monaghan, who is not here this weekend," Kravitz said.

"There have been rumours… it was brought up at the last race what Paul Monaghan is doing and whether he is leaving.

"Laurent Mekies wouldn’t confirm either way, but it’s very unusual for Monaghan to miss a race.

"The team, we believe, are saying that he’s just having a race off, but we also understand that he’s on his way to a different team. The strong belief in the paddock is that he’s on his way to a different team.

"So, the departure of top engineering brains at Red Bull continue."

Red Bull's mass exodus

It was announced earlier this year that Red Bull's head of racing Gianpiero Lambiase will be leaving the team for McLaren, becoming the Woking-based outfit's chief racing officer.

Although Lambiase will continue as Max Verstappen's race engineer and as head of racing until around 2028 before completing the switch, the announcement was the latest in a long line of key figures who have departed in recent seasons.

Lambiase, Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley all left for rival outfits, while long-time team principal Christian Horner was sacked last July, and Helmut Marko resigned from his advisor role at the end of the 2025 season.

Now, it seems as though Monaghan is also off elsewhere, with Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies tasked with a huge rebuild of the top team at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

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