At Red Bull the employees get wings!
Bloodletting from the world champion team in the Formula 1. A week ago it was announced that the Brause team was headed by chief strategist Will Courtenay will lose the next important employee to the competition.
But the loss also means opportunities… including for Hannah Schmitz (39), who has been responsible for the extremely successful strategies at Red Bull for years. Now she’s getting a promotion.
Dr. Helmut Marko (l.) and Christian Horner are now promoting strategy employee Hannah Schmitz
Foto: Formula 1 via Getty Images
These departures hurt
▶︎ Jonathan Wheatley (57)! The sporting director of the Red Bull team will be moving to Sauber (Audi from 2026) next year to take on the role of team boss.
▶︎ Adrian Newey (65)! The head of Red Bull Technology, the design department of the Formula 1 racing team Red Bull Racing, will work for Aston Martin from 2025.
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A week ago, the McLaren team announced that head of race strategy Will Courtenay would be joining the Papaya team. He has been with the company since the first Red Bull season (2005) and even worked for the previous team, Jaguar. From mid-2026 he will be employed at McLaren as Sporting Director.
Will Courtenay will leave Red Bull for McLaren in 2026
Foto: Getty Images
However, Red Bull doesn’t bury its head in the sand. This is how motorsport boss Dr. Helmut Marko (81) has already announced who will take on the important strategy task.
“Motorsport-total” he said, and the successor has already been chosen: “There is someone with us who can take on this position and that is Hannah Schmitz.”
Hannah Schmitz will be his successor after Courtnay’s departure
Foto: Getty Images
Since 2021, she has worked as a senior strategy engineer, side by side with Courtenay. She is currently responsible for the development and implementation of racing strategies in Formula 1 races. It is she who decides, among other things, when Max Verstappen comes to change his tires.
Marko can therefore get over the high-profile departure: “It’s a natural development when you’re so successful that people get poached. He had an offer for this position that was also financially more attractive.”
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For Marko and the Red Bull team, the only important thing at the moment is that their world champion Max Verstappen (27) doesn’t suddenly grow wings despite Mercedes’ attempts to poach him.
