Max Verstappen F1 News: Red Bull chief reveals why team are losing staff

Permane at the press conference at Spa-Francorchamps — Photo: © Red Bull Content Pool

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Red Bull chief reveals why team are losing staff as Max Verstappen future hangs in the balance

Red Bull have lost key staff members in recent years

By Vincent Bruins.

Tuesday 21 July 2026 15:56

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Alan Permane, Racing Bulls' team principal, believes that the recent departures of key personnel from the Red Bull teams are a natural result of shifting success.

While the Red Bull umbrella would certainly prefer not to lose its talented staff, he insists that the current turnover is somewhat inevitable.

"Of course, you don’t want to lose good people. No team does want to lose good people," Permane told GPFans and fellow media.

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In recent times, the Red Bull camp has seen a significant exodus of influential figures. Top designer Adrian Newey has moved to Aston Martin, and former CEO and team principal Christian Horner has also departed after being axed by the team.

Max Verstappen’s trusted race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, recently announced his move to McLaren for 2028. In addition, top advisor Helmut Marko has retired while designer Rob Marshall and strategic mastermind Will Courtenay have joined McLaren.

Jonathan Wheatley left to become team principal of Sauber then Audi (although no longer in role), highlighting giant names to have left the main team, who after winning six world championships between 2021 and 2024 have struggled in the last couple of seasons.

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Red Bull staff want new challenges

Permane, who co-manages the sister team alongside CEO Peter Bayer, sees a clear pattern behind these personnel shifts.

"One of the things that I think we’ve seen over the years is when a team has been very successful for many years, and then maybe they’re not so successful, you do tend to lose people," he explained.

"People feel they’ve completed that challenge there and they want to move on to other teams."

In the media, the departure of staff is regularly linked to the unrest surrounding Verstappen, with the departing names often labeled as allies of the four-time world champion.

However, Permane casts doubt on that conclusion. "I I know a lot of the headlines are being made that ‘Another Verstappen ally leaves Red Bull’. I’m not quite so sure it’s quite like that. I don’t know personally. I’m not sure that everyone who has left has been hanging on to Max’s coattails."

Permane says it's same for every team

Despite the significant turnover at the top, the focus remains on retaining a strong foundation for the future.

"But simply, you don’t want to lose good people. You want to retain good people, and you want to have a working environment that makes people want to stay with you," Permane said. He believes this challenge is universal in Formula 1. "I don’t think that’s different to any team up and down the pit lane."

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