Another Red Bull shake‑up: Monaghan set to leave
Monaghan’s exit adds pressure to Red Bull as uncertainty around Verstappen grows.
Red Bull’s troubles off the track are piling up fast. The latest Red Bull staff departure to hit the headlines is a big one. Chief engineer Paul Monaghan is set to leave the Milton Keynes team, according to sources at both ESPN and RacingNews365. This is another blow for a team already under intense pressure at its home race in Austria, where a major upgrade package is being deployed to try to keep Max Verstappen happy and on board.
Paul Monaghan: A Red Bull cornerstone ss Heading for the Exit
Monaghan, Red Bull’s chief engineer, has been one of the key cogs of the race team since he joined in 2005. That is over 20 years of service. According to RacingNews365 sources, the 58-year-old is expected to join F1 newcomer Cadillac, where he is set to take up a senior leadership role within the team’s engineering department.
Monaghan is also understood to have received an offer from Aston Martin, where he was lined up for a key leadership role. While his destination now appears clear, the timing of his departure remains uncertain.
Monaghan is at the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend with Red Bull, and the date of his exit is currently unknown. As is the case with Formula 1 deals, Monaghan would likely serve a period of gardening leave, which would delay his Cadillac start.
When pressed on the rumours, Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies was careful with his words. “There is a lot of rumours about the team and the team personnel,” Mekies said at the FIA team representatives’ press conference. He added that he did not think it would be right to comment on every single rumour that comes out. He noted that “most of them are still in the garage” and that some had changed their minds and are staying.
The Scale of Red Bull’s Staff Departure Problem
Monaghan is far from the first big name to leave. The list of departures over the past two years is striking. Long-serving team boss Christian Horner and racing advisor Helmut Marko both left in 2025, while design legend Adrian Newey left for Aston Martin and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley left for Audi a year before that.
The drain has also hit Verstappen’s personal circle very hard. The Dutchman’s chief mechanic, Matt Caller, left for Audi over the winter, while long-serving front-end mechanic Ole Schack is set to leave as well. Last month it was confirmed that Verstappen’s long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is heading for an exit, having confirmed a move to McLaren for 2028. You can read more about those McLaren connections and what they could mean for Verstappen’s future.
Monaghan is one of the last remaining links to the Red Bull dynasty team that enjoyed dominant spells from 2010 to 2014 and at the start of the current decade. That team has fallen apart over the past few seasons. Gianpiero Lambiase will become the third Red Bull figure to join McLaren from 2028, following in the footsteps of Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay.
Verstappen uncertainty at the Worst Possible time
This Red Bull staff departure comes at a moment when the team desperately needs calm and stability. Verstappen’s own deal runs until the end of 2028, but sources have told ESPN he has performance-related clauses in his deal that would likely be triggered this season due to Red Bull’s poor start to the new regulations, and those clauses would allow him to exit at the end of 2026.
It is widely suggested within the F1 world that Verstappen has a clause in his current deal which would allow him to depart ahead of the 2027 season if he is outside the top two in the standings by the summer break. The clause for the Dutchman’s potential exit expires after the Singapore Grand Prix in mid-October.
Red Bull is fighting back with a big upgrade at their home race. Check out our full breakdown of the Austrian GP upgrades and how practice sessions have gone in our FP2 report from Spielberg. The team also had to deal with extreme heat conditions at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, adding another layer of difficulty.
Can Red Bull Stop the Rot?
The pressure on Red Bull right now is enormous. Every Red Bull staff departure makes it harder to convince Verstappen to stay. Monaghan’s departure will only add to the growing speculation about the future of Max Verstappen, whose status in Formula 1 beyond this year is increasingly uncertain.
The upgrade in Austria is described as one of Red Bull’s biggest in years. If it works and Verstappen starts finding joy in the RB22 again, things could turn around. If not, the pressure on the team’s leadership to resolve his contract situation before the Singapore deadline will be immense. Keep it here at rnt-motorsports.com for all the latest from Spielberg and beyond.
