Red Bull are reportedly close to agreeing a deal to sign Tom McCullough as their new head of race engineering, replacing the outgoing Gianpiero Lambiase.
Lambiase's departure
Known in the Formula 1 paddock as 'GP', Lambiase has worked as race engineer to Max Verstappen for a decade and, in recent years, has also taken on extra responsibility as the head of the department within the team. But his long tenure with Red Bull will soon come to an end after he agreed a deal to join McLaren. He will begin work with his new employer in 2028 and is set to serve an extended period of gardening leave before then.
It is understood Verstappen's new race engineer will be Tom Hart, who was due to leave the team to join Williams but has now been persuaded to stay on as the man in Verstappen's ear while he is on track.
McCullough's role
BILD reports the team is set to sign Tom McCullough as their new head of race engineering. The experienced F1 operator spent many years with Aston Martin, most recently as performance director, but was shuffled out of the racing team and into other Aston Martin projects last year. It was reported earlier this week that he is set to depart altogether.
McCullough's start date at Red Bull is currently unclear, though BILD are adamant that he will be the team's "next top signing".
Other changes at Red Bull
It comes after the team confirmed it has poached Gwen Lagrue away from Mercedes to become the new head of their junior driver development programme, replacing Helmut Marko who departed at the end of last year.
Lagrue has spent more than a decade in a similar role for Mercedes and, in that time, has overseen the development of four drivers who have gone on to race in Formula 1. That includes both the Silver Arrows' current drivers, George Russell who debuted in F1 with Williams and teenager Kimi Antonelli who went straight into the sport last year with Mercedes.
"Budapest was my final Grand Prix with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, bringing to a close an incredible chapter after 11 unforgettable seasons," Lagrue wrote on LinkedIn. "When Toto [Wolff] gave me the opportunity to join the team, I couldn't have imagined the journey that lay ahead. Together, we built, evolved and challenged ourselves every single day, always driven by the same ambition to help talented young drivers reach their full potential.
"Watching young talent grow into world-class professionals has been one of the greatest privileges of my career. I hope each of you continues to dream big, work hard and enjoy every step of the journey. You are surrounded by an extraordinary team that will always push you to become the very best version of yourselves."
