Source: REUTERS/Edgar Su
[Saba Sports News] The Red Bull F1 team has lost another key employee as race strategy chief Will Courtenay is set to join championship rival McLaren F1 team as sports director. Courtenay has been involved in F1 for over 20 years. He joined Jaguar Racing as a systems engineer in 2003 before the team was acquired by Red Bull. When he made his debut with Red Bull in 2005, he had already been promoted to strategic engineer and later became race strategy chief in 2010. Courtenay is now part of Red Bull’s triad strategy team, which also includes chief strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz and senior strategy engineer Stephen Knowles. Courtenay’s contract with Red Bull is set to last until summer 2026; however, after negotiations with McLaren, it is expected that his contract will be terminated early. In response, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella stated that Courtenay’s addition will further enhance the team’s depth in sports operations and help improve performance. After joining McLaren F1 team, Courtenay will report directly to team principal Randeep Singh, who has served as McLaren F1 team’s sports and strategy director since 2020.