F1 News: Red Bull star does exit U-turn as top insider reveals 'counteroffer'

Red Bull

Red Bull star does exit U-turn as top F1 insider reveals 'counteroffer'

It looks like 'Pedals' could be staying after all

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Sunday 16 August 2026 08:15

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Red Bull appear to have had a major victory in their bid to stem their much-publicised talent drain with Paul Monaghan reportedly set to stay with the team.

The once-mighty Milton Keynes outfit have struggled in a big way in 2026, not helped by a string of high-profile exits over the last 24 months.

Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Helmut Marko, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley are just some of the huge influences to have left Red Bull, for a variety of reasons.

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Now the team are preparing to say goodbye to Max Verstappen's long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase with his exit to McLaren no later than 2028 already confirmed.

Red Bull appeared to have suffered a further blow in late June when reports surfaced at the Austrian Grand Prix suggesting Monaghan was about to make the move to join F1 rookie team Cadillac.

Fast forward a month though and the 58-year-old Englishman - affectionately known throughout the paddock as 'Pedals' - was back in the Red Bull garage at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.

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Lobato reveals Monaghan twist

Fast forward a further two weeks and perhaps we have the reason for his return with top Spanish F1 insider Antonio Lobato claiming he could be set to stay with the team.

DAZN commentator Lobato - speaking to SoyMotor - claims Red Bull appear to have avoided a Monaghan exit by presenting the highly-rated engineer with a counteroffer.

He revealed: " They’ve lost a lot of people along the way; they’ve managed to save some because they seem to have managed to rescue Paul Monaghan by making him a counteroffer."

GPFans has approached Red Bull for comment.

Massive boost for Red Bull in Verstappen fight

The news - which of course for now remains unconfirmed - would be a huge boost for Red Bull as they look to stem that worrying talent drain.

It comes as the team is fighting desperately to keep four-time world champion Max Verstappen from also exiting stage left.

The 28-year-old Dutchman has an exit clause in his current contract, which is now active after he reached the summer break outside the top two in the Drivers' championship standings.

Verstappen, who has been linked with Mercedes and McLaren, says his first choice would be to remain at Red Bull but he wants to be sure they can provide a car capable of challenging for race wins and championships.

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