Former Red Bull strategy chief Will Courtenay has officially started work as McLaren’s sporting director, taking up the position on 2 January as Formula 1 teams resume operations ahead of the new season.
Courtenay agreed to join McLaren in 2024 but remained at Red Bull under contract until talks were reopened following leadership changes at the Milton Keynes team last year, allowing an earlier release.
In a statement, Courtenay thanked Red Bull colleagues for more than two decades at the team and said he was looking forward to contributing to McLaren’s recent momentum. In his new role, he reports to McLaren racing director Randy Singh, while Red Bull is expected to promote long-serving principal strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz to lead its strategy group.
The 2026 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix in March, following pre-season testing in Spain and Bahrain.
