
McLaren’s attempt to secure an early release for incoming sporting director Will Courtenay has been blocked by Red Bull, it has been claimed.
McLaren announced the signing of Courtenay, Red Bull’s long-serving head of race strategy, in September last year.
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With extended periods of gardening leave commonplace in F1 staff contracts to prevent sensitive information spreading between the teams, Courtenay was not expected to start work with McLaren until the middle of 2026 at the latest.
McLaren were reportedly keen to strike a deal with Red Bull to allow Courtenay to start work at the earliest opportunity, potentially as soon as this year.
However, a report by the Race has claimed that Red Bull have shown ‘no interest’ in a deal and expect Courtenay to complete the remainder of his contract.
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As such, Courtenay is poised to spend the entire F1 2025 season on the Red Bull pit wall, working closely with principal strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz.
It is believed that Schmitz is expected to inherit Courtenay’s responsibilities on a full-time basis when the latter’s move to McLaren goes through.
The news comes after tensions between Red Bull and McLaren became heated during the World Championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in F1 2024.
Following the collision between Verstappen and Norris in Austria, McLaren boss Zak Brown questioned Red Bull’s ability to control the reigning World Champion and described the team’s approach to racing as “nasty.”
Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, hit back at the next race at Silverstone by saying he would not “dignify” Brown’s comments with a response, with Verstappen adding: “Who’s Zak Brown?”
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Brown later took issue with Verstappen’s aggressive style of racing, publicly criticising the Red Bull driver after he was hit with two 10-second penalties in quick succession for separate incidents with Norris in Mexico.
Courtenay became the third high-profile Red Bull figure to announce his departure from Red Bull in 2024, announcing his move to McLaren in the aftermath of last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Courtenay’s exit follows those of F1 design legend Adrian Newey, who will join Aston Martin as managing technical partner at the beginning of March, and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, who was announced as the team principal of the new-look Audi F1 team last summer.
Red Bull’s hardline stance over Courtenay comes after the Milton Keynes-based team reportedly agreed to an early release for Audi-bound Wheatley.
Wheatley, who vacated his role as Red Bull’s sporting director at the end of the F1 2024 season, had originally not been expected to link up with Audi F1 until this summer.
However, multiple reports on Wednesday claimed that Audi F1 have reached a deal with Red Bull to allow Wheatley to start his new role on April 1.
The news of the agreement between Audi F1 and Red Bull came after the existing Sauber team announced the departure of team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi on Tuesday.
Alunni Bravi had effectively acted as team principal over the course of 2023/24 following Fred Vasseur’s move to Ferrari at the end of 2022, regularly representing Sauber in press conferences on F1 race weekends.
In a short statement, Audi F1 chief Mattia Binotto paid tribute to Alunni Bravi’s contribution to the Swiss-based team.
He said: “Having worked closely with him in the months since my arrival to Hinwil, I want to pay tribute to Alessandro, a true team player who came to embody the essence of Sauber throughout the years.
“Alessandro played a wide range of roles within the team, steering it through difficult and exciting times alike.
“As he moves onto a new venture, the whole company would like to thank him for all his energy and contributions over the years and wish him the best for the future.”
Alunni Bravi added: “It is an emotional time as my journey with Sauber reaches its end.
“Since I joined in 2017, I have seen this team grow and change beyond what anyone could have imagined.
“This organisation went through exciting and difficult times alike, all without ever losing its spirit and its commitment, which is something I find inspiring, and I was proud of being able to represent the team as its public face in the last two years.
“As I move on to a new project, I want to thank Finn Rausing, all those who put so much trust and faith in me at Sauber and Audi, and all the colleagues I have been working with for the last eight years.
“This team is a family and has a bright future ahead.”
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