With Will Courtenay, Red Bull loses another long-standing employee – after more than 20 years in Milton Keynes, he is joining McLaren as director of racing
And another departure at Red Bull: McLaren announced on Tuesday that it had signed Will Courtenay as its new director of racing. He has worked in various roles in Milton Keynes for more than 20 years.
Courtenay joined the former Jaguar team as a systems engineer in 2003 and remained with the team after it was taken over by Red Bull. He has been Head of Race Strategy there since 2010 and will remain in that role.
Now he is moving to McLaren as sports director, where he will report to race director Randeep Singh. McLaren said in a press release: “Will’s expertise will further deepen the team’s sporting operations and help to improve the racing team’s performance.”
Team principal Andrea Stella explains: “We are very pleased to welcome Will to McLaren. His experience, professionalism and passion for motorsport make him the ideal candidate to lead our Formula One sports department.“
”We are now entering an important phase in our journey as a team and we are confident that he will be a great addition to our strong leadership team as we look to continue our pursuit of victories and championships,” said Stella.
For Red Bull, Courtenay is another notable departure. It has been known for some time that Adrian Newey (Aston Martin) and Jonathan Wheatley (Audi) will also leave the team to take on new challenges in Formula 1.
It is still unclear when exactly Courtenay will join McLaren. He still has a contract in Milton Keynes until mid-2026 and, according to a team spokesperson, he is expected to fulfill it.
It says: “After a long and successful time with the team since the Jaguar days, we are sad to see him go, but we wish him all the best in this step. Will will continue to be part of the team and fulfill his contract until mid-2026.”
