Tag: McLaren

Verstappen overcomes McLaren challenge in British GP win

Max Verstappen led Red Bull Racing to a record-equaling 11th consecutive grand prix win with a straightforward victory at the British Grand Prix. The triumphant streak, dating back to last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, matches McLaren’s legendary …

Max Verstappen led Red Bull Racing to a record-equaling 11th consecutive grand prix win with a straightforward victory at the British Grand Prix.

The triumphant streak, dating back to last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, matches McLaren’s legendary 1988 streak that saw the team win all but one race that season.

Verstappen was made to work for his win in the opening phase of the race, when he was jumped from pole by second-place starter Lando Norris.

Norris got the better start to sweep into the lead at the first turn, and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri attempted to make it a one-two by pressuring Verstappen all the way up to Copse, where he thought better of attempting to dive down the Dutchman’s inside.

But McLaren’s dream of an unlikely victory lived only as long as it took for race control to enable DRS. By lap 5, Verstappen breezed into the lead with an easy slipstream pass.

A safety car restart on lap 39 — called for Kevin Magnussen’s combusting Haas power unit — brought the field back together again, but a perfect getaway meant no threat ever eventuated, and he cruised to the checkered flag.

“We had a terrible start, so we need to look into why that was,” Verstappen said. “But even after that both McLarens were super quick. It took a few laps to pass them, then at one point I could ease out a gap and everything looked all right again.

“Of course very happy that we won again — 11 wins in a row for the team, I think is pretty incredible.”

Norris converted his front-row start to second place after a late-race duel with Lewis Hamilton for the runner-up position.

Norris’s switch to the hard tire during the caution, whereas Hamilton took the soft, gave the Mercedes significantly more grip for the first few laps of the resumption. Norris’s defense was inch perfect as they diced through Brooklands, Luffield and Woodcote, and twice Hamilton had to think better of a bold move through Copse.

But by the time DRS was enabled three laps into the restart, Norris’s tires were up to temperature, preventing an easy pass. Hamilton, meanwhile, had cooked his tires, and his challenge faded. Norris took the flag with a 2.9s advantage for his best result since finishing second at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.

“Pretty insane,” Norris said. “I just want to say a big thanks to the whole team. They’ve done an amazing job. Pretty amazing.”

McLaren looked on track to score a double podium, but the safety car period was poorly timed for Piastri, who had made his sole stop on lap 29, just two laps before Magnussen’s car ground to a halt with fire erupting from beneath his engine cover. Hamilton, who was yet to stop, took advantage of the reduced pace to jump Piastri and nab third from the Australian.

“That [McLaren] was rapid through the high-speed corners. I couldn’t keep up,” Hamilton admitted. “I think this is a good positive for us as a team to know we’re not that far away. We’ve just got to keep on pushing and we can catch those guys up front.”

Piastri saw off a challenge from George Russell for his best finish in Formula 1, while Russell restricted Sergio Perez’s recovery from 15th on the grid to sixth.

Fernando Alonso finished seventh in a muted performance for Aston Martin, having spent the final stint defending against the rapid Williams of Alex Albon.

Albon picked up four points in his third top-10 finish of the season after a gutsy duel with he Ferrari drivers following the restart, benefiting in part from the chance to pit for softs behind the safety car.

Charles Leclerc led home teammate Carlos Sainz in ninth and 10th after difficulties squeezing pace from the hard tire.

Leclerc was among the first to stop for the white-marked rubber but struggled to make an impact with it, and despite undercutting Russell with the early tire change, he was passed easily only a few laps into his defense. He used the safety car to abandon the strategy and switch back to the medium tire, which helped him back past Sainz, who was stuck with his hards, after the safety car restart.

American rookie Logan Sargeant came achingly close to his first points, finishing 11th and just 4.1s behind Sainz.

Valtteri Bottas finished 12th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and the penalized Lance Stroll, who had crossed the line 11th but was penalized for cutting the Vale chicane and banging wheels with Pierre Gasly. The contact appeared to break Gasly’s suspension, forcing him into retirement — and a double DNF for Alpine, which also saw Esteban Ocon’s race end with a hydraulics failure after only nine laps.

Zhou Guanyu finished 15th with brake problems ahead of AlphaTauri teammates Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries.

Top-3 placing ‘very special’ for McLaren’s Piastri

Oscar Piastri admits his first top-three result in qualifying at the British Grand Prix is “very special” after a stunning day for McLaren. Qualifying took place in damp conditions but stayed dry enough for slicks throughout and as the track dried …

Oscar Piastri admits his first top-three result in qualifying at the British Grand Prix is “very special” after a stunning day for McLaren.

Qualifying took place in damp conditions but stayed dry enough for slicks throughout and as the track dried further McLaren came on strongly to secure second place with Lando Norris and Piastri in third. Receiving the updated McLaren at Silverstone — one race after Norris — the Australian pulled out the best result of his rookie season to date and says he took his opportunity when it came.

“It’s very special to be in the top three,” Piastri said. “It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to one of these press conferences so it’s nice to be back. It’s been a great day — even this weekend, we thought we could get into the top 10 at least.

“When the conditions were looking like they were, it’s generally been solid for us previously. I think we went in quietly confident that we could pull off something pretty special and we managed to do it. Happy with the lap I did — wasn’t too much left out there.”

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Given the changing conditions, Piastri says McLaren responds well to such situations and took full advantage with both cars.

“I think we’ve had about four of those (type of) sessions this year. I think we’re all getting good practice with it, but those conditions, most drivers really enjoy them. They’re always tricky to get right — you need to find where the grip is on the track. Sometimes you couldn’t see where the grip was, you just had to pray you were on a dry bit of track.

“I really enjoy those conditions, and so does our car it seems. I think we did a good job, managing on the team side. When it comes to qualifying, nine times out of 10 we do a good job with that. Full credit to the team for the calls today — and the car as well, clearly it was working well today.”

While not getting two carried away by the qualifying showing, Piastri is hopeful that McLaren can at least keep both drivers in the top 10 given the race pace shown by the updated car in Austria last weekend.

“Firstly stay in the points, I think that would be good,” he reckoned. “I think we have to see what our race pace was like. Lando showed last week that we can hang on in the races now to a much better extent. Hopefully we can try do the same tomorrow. Staying in the top three will be tricky with quite a few quick cars behind us, but definitely a solid points score can be on the cards.”

Verstappen heads McLarens in British GP qualifying

Max Verstappen secured pole for the British Grand Prix ahead of a surprise McLaren two-three led by Lando Norris. The qualifying hour started in the damp, but grip ramped up rapidly as the sun broke through the clouds and dried the track into its …

Max Verstappen secured pole for the British Grand Prix ahead of a surprise McLaren two-three led by Lando Norris.

The qualifying hour started in the damp, but grip ramped up rapidly as the sun broke through the clouds and dried the track into its optimum window by Q3.

The tricky conditions caught out Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, in Q1, delivering him his third bottom-five elimination of the season in another body blow to the Mexican’s campaign.

But what had been a randomized session swung back to a conventional pole shootout, and Verstappen came to the fore with the fastest lap of the weekend to seal his fifth successive P1 start and seventh for the season with a 0.241s margin.

“It’s been quite a crazy qualifying,” he said. “It’s been quite hectic and also quite slippery in some places.

“Knowing we have a quick car, you don’t need to go to 100 percent the limit. That’s why in Q3, when we go for it, we eked out the gap a little bit.”

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It wasn’t the cruisy qualifying session Verstappen has enjoyed at previous rounds, with the Dutchman having to push for a second lap after losing provisional pole halfway through Q3 to Norris.

Conditions were perfect for the MCL60, which has shown a preference for cool conditions given how quickly it fires up its tires.

The upgraded and reliveried McLaren MCL60 was a horse of a different color at Silverstone, where Lando Norris put it on the front row. Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

McLaren has also brought its season-defining Austria upgrade to both cars this weekend as well as some extra new parts for Norris’s car as part of its multi-race plan to overhaul the car.

“It makes up for everything, all the hard work that we’ve been putting in,” he said. “Home race for the team, for myself — we couldn’t have had a better result today — apart from Max!”

Piastri, who was 0.131s further back, also praised the team for its work revising the car to haul it up the order.

“To pull it off in Q3 like that is a mega result,” he said. “I can’t thank the team enough for continuing to push.”

Ferrari prevailed in a super-tight battle with Mercedes to a spot on the second row. Charles Leclerc beat Carlos Sainz to fourth, and George Russell beat Lewis Hamilton to sixth, but the quartet was spread over just 0.075s.

Alex Albon turned his Williams car’s excellent pace this weekend into a meritorious eighth on the grid ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine.

Nico Hulkenberg was knocked out 11th ahead of Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon, the latter tow having tangled setting up their final laps.

Ocon attempted to cut past Stroll into the Vale chicane but locked up and went wide, badly compromising the start of the following tour.

Logan Sargeant was furious to be eliminated 14th on such a fast afternoon for Williams after being fouled for exceeding track limits at Copse.

Valtteri Bottas didn’t set a Q2 time after his Alfa Romeo switched itself off on track at the end of the previous qualifying segment

Perez will start a demoralizing 16th after a frenetic final three minutes of Q3 jumbled up the qualifying order.

Kevin Magnussen’s Haas stopped on track at the pit entrance with a spontaneous system shutdown, triggering a red flag. While the marshals rescued his car, the previously damp and greasy track began to dry, forcing the 19 remaining drivers back on track for what would be one lap apiece.

The number of circulating cars rapidly ramped up track grip, but Perez was first out of pit lane. His sole lap put him at the top of the order, but by the time the other cars had set their lap, he’d tumbled catastrophically to 16th, missing out by just 0.019s.

There was more time to be had for Perez, though, given Albon right behind him made it through comfortably. It’s the third time he’s been knocked out in Q1 this year and sixth time he’s failed to make the top-10 shootout.

Yuki Tsunoda will start 17th ahead of Zhou Guanyu, Nyck de Vries and the stricken Magnussen.

McLaren goes back to Chrome for British Grand Prix

McLaren has unveiled a special Google Chrome livery for the British Grand Prix this weekend that celebrates its last world championship victories. In a throwback to the chrome designs that McLaren ran from 2007 to 2014, the team’s current livery has …

McLaren has unveiled a special Google Chrome livery for the British Grand Prix this weekend that celebrates its last world championship victories.

In a throwback to the chrome designs that McLaren ran from 2007 to 2014, the team’s current livery has been updated with significant chrome additions alongside the papaya sections. McLaren’s last world title came in 2008 — the same year Google Chrome was launched — and is celebrated as part of its 60th anniversary at its home race at Silverstone.

“It’s no secret that racing fans love McLaren’s classic chrome livery,” McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said. “Google Chrome wanted to bring back elements of this iconic livery to celebrate our team’s history at the British Grand Prix, and we’re excited to be able to give our fans what they want.

“I’m sure this livery will bring back great memories for many of our fans, and I can’t wait to see it out on track at our home race.”

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Brown says McLaren could have gone further with the design but a combination of rules and its current brand image played a part in combining the two.

“We want to keep our papaya identity. It’s very important for us that we give a nod to the past, but very much look forward to the future. There’s also so many times you can change the livery into extremes, so what we did in Monaco a couple of years ago, you’re only really allowed to do a couple of times, and then to kind of have variations of your base scheme, you can do a little bit more often.

“I think the rules aside, it was important to us — we’re really trying to build our association with papaya much like Ferrari’s red and Mercedes have their color identity, we get a lot of feedback from the fans who really like the papaya. That’s why we went with the combination.”

Lando Norris says the livery is a special one for him as it reflects the period that helped him fall in love with Formula 1 as a kid, and that he has tried to get Brown to integrate the chrome colors over a number of years.

“Probably over 1300 days or something since I joined McLaren!” Norris said. “2018, it was one of the first things I probably said to (Brown). I’m pretty sure from what I remember it was when he showed me the livery that we were going to have for 2019, and he asked me, ‘What would you change on the car?” and I was like: ‘The whole thing!’

“Just because for me, walking down the boulevard, as much as I would like the white and bright orange — that livery was amazing — I think just there’s no other car nowadays that is like the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes that we had back then. And that’s what I grew up watching, that’s what I fell in love with in many ways. I feel like I can say it, it inspired me to be a Formula 1 driver.

“Before that I was more into MotoGP, motorbikes, motocross, quad biking… That’s what I loved to begin with and I didn’t really know much about racing. Then I got into watching some Formula 1 and it was Lewis (Hamilton) versus Fernando (Alonso) even though they were in the same team, and that’s what I really fell in love with.

“Kind of getting to relive that — I’d say every year I’ve been pestering him a little bit to want to go back a little bit in that direction. I know it’s only for one race but it’s kind of cool to relive a little bit of what got me into Formula 1 in some ways, also knowing that it’s a very historic part of McLaren. They were very successful then, it’s when Lewis won his first world championship and things like that. So it’s very special.”

Norris says caution over track limits limited him to fourth

Lando Norris believes he should have been third on the grid at the Austrian Grand Prix but backed out of the final corner fearing he’d exceed track limits and so lost out to Carlos Sainz. McLaren brought a major upgrade to the Red Bull Ring that …

Lando Norris believes he should have been third on the grid at the Austrian Grand Prix but backed out of the final corner fearing he’d exceed track limits and so lost out to Carlos Sainz.

McLaren brought a major upgrade to the Red Bull Ring that looked immediately more competitive, but Norris didn’t complete a late soft-tire run in practice after picking up some floor damage. With the car repaired for qualifying, he duly secured a spot on the second row but says he was on the verge of beating his former McLaren teammate before a scare at the final corner.

“I’m super happy,” Norris told Sky Sports. “The guys did a good job to get all the bits here this weekend and it’s paid off straight away. A very good day from start to finish. We had a few issues this morning which meant we were even more limited on running, but to be here with quite a new car and to get it to just work as it should and so on, I think that the guys did a very good job to allow that.

“So, yes, a big thanks to them. But P4, as a driver I’m complaining because I could have been P3. I made a little mistake but I’m happy nevertheless.

“It’s just difficult to commit. The last corner is a very tricky corner because you kind of hit the curb on the entry, which makes the car very nervous. I just missed the apex by a little bit and as it compresses, if you miss it, you understeer so badly, and so I thought I was on track limits and just had to back out of it. So it definitely cost me P3, which I’m a bit annoyed by because I would have loved to beat Carlos.”

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Norris has been on the podium twice at the Red Bull Ring and has put himself in a strong position for Sunday, but he says his past record slightly tempers his excitement with the updated McLaren even if he’s seen clear progress.

“Decent, huh? I don’t know any of the true numbers or anything just yet, but it’s definitely been a step forward. There have definitely been things that are shown to have improved. I have more confidence with the car in certain places. I wouldn’t say it’s changed everything — it’s not like the characteristic is loads better — but at the same time, we didn’t expect it to be a lot better. We just expected like a global improvement, which it’s done.

“I think today we’ve managed to prove it even on the short circuit, so it makes us look a bit better. Even if you doubled it and say, well half a second off, I think we’d still be happy with it. I’m always a negative guy — this track’s always been a good one for us so I don’t want to get too ahead of myself and say it’s amazing. I’d like to wait to Silverstone for that, but, like I said, the team did a good job to get everything here and to make such a big step so far. So, it’s down to me on Sunday, to turn it into some points.”

McLaren has high hopes for Austria upgrades

McLaren’s season could start to turn around as a result of the upgrades that will be introduced from the Austrian Grand Prix onwards, according to team principal Andrea Stella. This weekend’s race at the Red Bull Ring is a Sprint weekend so there is …

McLaren’s season could start to turn around as a result of the upgrades that will be introduced from the Austrian Grand Prix onwards, according to team principal Andrea Stella.

This weekend’s race at the Red Bull Ring is a Sprint weekend so there is only one free practice session for any teams to get a handle on new parts, but much like in Azerbaijan, McLaren is targeting the introduction of a major package. While the Baku update was designed to put the car where the team felt it should have been at launch specification, the latest developments come with even higher expectations.

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“Austria is a track in which we’ve done well in the past,” Stella said. “There’s six or seven corners, four of them are high-speed which we should be competitive on, and Austria is also our first step of bringing upgrades. I think this can be more important than how suitable the track is to the characteristics of our car.

“Ultimately for us it’s a milestone in terms of possibly turning around the season. Not only thanks to what we bring to Austria but also thanks to what will follow in the next races. So our focus – more than the characteristics of the track – is now on the car itself.

“So even if we only have one session, hopefully we will be able to validate the new package and from there move on to a more competitive situation.”

As the lead driver in the championship, Lando Norris will be receiving the first developments in Austria, and McLaren won’t be bringing the entire update to the Red Bull Ring but instead spreading its introduction out across three consecutive race weekends. Roughly half is expected to be ready for this weekend, then Stella estimating 25% further at Silverstone before the rest in Hungary.

“I’m banking on this package, but across pretty much three races in which we will introduce it. This should be a few tenths of a second, it should be noticeable from a lap time point of view.”

After eight rounds so far this season, McLaren has scored just 17 points and sits sixth in the constructors’ championship, 27 points adrift of Alpine in fifth having failed to pick up a point in each of the last two races.

Working with a new manufacturer in ’26 not worth the risk – McLaren’s Stella

McLaren views the potential of working with a brand new power unit manufacturer in 2026 as a risk that is not worth taking compared to extending its partnership with Mercedes. Team principal Andrea Stella said over the Spanish Grand Prix weekend …

McLaren views the potential of working with a brand new power unit manufacturer in 2026 as a risk that is not worth taking compared to extending its partnership with Mercedes.

Team principal Andrea Stella said over the Spanish Grand Prix weekend that McLaren is “quite advanced” in its talks with Mercedes about continuing its current partnership from 2026 onwards, following exploratory discussions with Red Bull Powertrains. While there was also interest in working with Audi before it opted to make Sauber its works team, Stella said something along the lines of the Aston Martin deal with Honda – an already-proven current supplier – is the ideal scenario for a team in 2026.

“There’s three options,” Stella said. “One is, ideally you are a works team but with an established power unit manufacturer. Then there’s being a customer with an established (manufacturer) – I think joining with a new partnership comes with an element of risk.

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“In 2026 we want to be there, we don’t want to be saying ‘OK now we need two years because the project is too immature’. We want to be there from a chassis point of view and sound from a power unit point of view. If I had to choose, I would always choose to be a works team. But I don’t think that this is a fundamental differentiator to be able to win.”

Stella believes McLaren needs to work on other aspects of its organization to have a better chance of winning, and doesn’t want the team prioritizing its power unit future at this point.

“At the moment if we look at our limitations, they are nothing to do with the power unit,” he said. “I think they are much more fundamental and that’s where I would like to keep the focus.

“Even when I think about having to improve from an aerodynamic point of view or having to improve from a tire point of view… the role of the power unit, even in terms of layout and construction and so on, is really small. So I remain convinced that it could be one of the final incremental elements … but I do not think it should be too much of a preoccupation.”

The signing of Red Bull’s Rob Marshall comes after he worked on powertrains at Milton Keynes, but Stella had already ruled out any connection between that and the talks regarding a power unit supply deal.

“There is no link,” Stella said of Marshall’s arrival. “We had conversations with Red Bull a few months ago as part of the due diligence in exploring what’s available on the market in terms of power unit for 2026, but at the moment we are quite advanced in our negotiations with HPP, so there’s no conversation ongoing with Red Bull.”

McLaren to celebrate 60th anniversary with multiple cars at Goodwood Festival of Speed

McLaren will celebrate its 60th anniversary at the July 13-16 Goodwood Festival of Speed with a collection of its most successful cars set to run up the event’s famed hillclimb. Among the cars in action will be the 1999 MP4/14A, which will be driven …

McLaren will celebrate its 60th anniversary at the July 13-16 Goodwood Festival of Speed with a collection of its most successful cars set to run up the event’s famed hillclimb.

Among the cars in action will be the 1999 MP4/14A, which will be driven by Mika Hakkinen 24 years after he raced it to a second-straight Formula 1 drivers’ title, fending off Ferrari’s Eddie Irvine.

The car that won McLaren’s next — and most recent — drivers’ title, the 2008 MP4-23A ,will also be running in the hands of McLaren’s 1995 Le Mans winner JJ Lehto. The Finn will be driving chassis No. 5, the very car Lewis Hamilton drove at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix to secure his first F1 title.

As well as Lehto’s attendance, McLaren’s triple crown exploits will be further represented by the Monaco grand prix-winning MP4/2B, which will be driven by Emanuele Pirro.

Completing the running car lineup will be Emerson Fittipaldi in the 1974 McLaren M23, and Emma Gilmour in the 1970 Can-Am M8D (pictured, top).

Mika Hakkinen will be reunited with his 1999 title-winning McLaren MP4/14-Mercedes at Goodwood. Motorsport Images

“Goodwood and the Festival of Speed have such an important place in McLaren’s history. It is the place our story began in many ways, so a fitting place to mark our 60th,” said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. “I’m excited to be able to bring such an impressive selection of cars and drivers to celebrate our anniversary in a big way.

“Our fans are such a huge part of our history; what better way to honor them than giving them the opportunity for a closer look at these icons. It’s going to be a fantastic four days.”

The legendary MP4/4, which won 15 out of 16 races in 1988, will be on display — specifically chassis No. 1 which won the San Marino Grand Prix and claimed pole at the Brazilian GP, both in the hands of Ayrton Senna — alongside a show car adorned with McLaren’s recent triple crown commemorative livery.

“We’re honored that McLaren will be joining us at the Festival of Speed this summer to celebrate their 60th anniversary,” added Goodwood Festival of Speed founder the Duke of Richmond. “In such a special year for the brand, I know our fans will be thrilled to see the greatest-ever collection of cars and drivers from McLaren’s history.

“As we celebrate 30 years of the Festival of Speed and 75 years of motorsport at Goodwood, we look forward to welcoming McLaren and writing another chapter in our long and shared history.”

Extreme E appoints McLaren veteran Grain as new technical director

Extreme E has appointed former McLaren sporting director Mark Grain as its new technical director. In the newly-created role, Grain will oversee the series’ upcoming hydrogen shift. The series is set to debut a prototype of its new hydrogen vehicle …

Extreme E has appointed former McLaren sporting director Mark Grain as its new technical director.

In the newly-created role, Grain will oversee the series’ upcoming hydrogen shift. The series is set to debut a prototype of its new hydrogen vehicle next month, ahead of testing and production later this year.

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“Having experienced Extreme E first hand as a competitor and loved every minute, when the chance came to join the Championship, I jumped at it,” said Grain, who was instrumental in creating McLaren’s Extreme E team, and was involved in the company’s 1995 Le Mans win as well as multiple IndyCar victories.

“Extreme E continues to evolve and break new ground in motorsport, having already established many ‘firsts’ which make its appeal so unique. The opportunity to play a part in its future is incredibly exciting, especially with the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell racing.

“We don’t want to sit back; we want to continue to push and evolve. Extreme E already has a track record of challenging common assumptions and ways of going racing, and I share the strong ambition to maintain that momentum.”

Grain was instrumental in McLaren’s entry to Extreme E. Andrew Ferraro/Motorsport Images

Extreme E founder and CEO Alejandro Agag was thrilled with the new appointment, calling him “the ideal candidate for the role”.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mark to Extreme E as our new Technical Director. His relentless pursuit of excellence has earned him a stellar reputation in the industry and this, combined with his unrivalled expertise and passion for sustainable motorsport, make him the ideal candidate for this new role,” said Agag.

“We believe his expertise will be invaluable in shaping the technical future of Extreme E and driving innovation within the championship, while there will also be significant focus on preparations to launch Extreme H, a world-first hydrogen motorsport series.”

Extreme E’s chief championship officer James Taylor added that his experience in creating and running McLaren’s Extreme E team will prove to be a valuable benefit in his new championship-wide role.

“We look forward to Mark bringing his expertise and experience into this new role. The fact that Mark has run McLaren’s Extreme E team is a major benefit for us, as he appreciates both the technical and sporting demands of a team and the Championship,” said Taylor. “Extreme E has always pushed the boundaries since its inception, and Mark’s appointment as Technical Director only further reinforces that.

“Although already into our third season, there is a lot more potential to be unearthed in our series and so Mark’s arrival into the Extreme E team is an important one. Mark will work closely with our experts from Spark Racing Technology and our fuel cell partner to ensure that the Extreme H car and associated technology provides our teams with the best possible car to race.”

McLaren signs Red Bull veteran Marshall for senior technical role

McLaren has announced the signing of former Red Bull chief engineering officer Rob Marshall to the new position of technical director of engineering and design. Marshall has been at Red Bull for 17 years, working his way up the engineering ranks to …

McLaren has announced the signing of former Red Bull chief engineering officer Rob Marshall to the new position of technical director of engineering and design.

Marshall has been at Red Bull for 17 years, working his way up the engineering ranks to lead that department in recent years, winning six drivers’ championships and five constructors’ titles in the process. After a recent restructuring that was announced by McLaren under team principal Andrea Stella, Marshall has been secured to work above Neil Houldey, and will form a three-man Formula 1 technical executive team alongside Peter Prodromou and David Sanchez when he joins on 1 January 2024.

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“I am incredibly pleased that Rob will be joining McLaren,” Stella said. “With over 25 years working in motorsport, Rob comes to us with a wealth of expertise and experience, elevated by his tenure and track record at Red Bull Racing. Rob’s appointment is one of the fundamental steps and a natural fit to aid the team’s journey to get back to our winning ways.

“We are a team with the ambition of fighting for championships, but over the last couple of seasons we have not shown a steady upward trend from an on-track competitiveness point of view. Over the last few months, we have worked towards inverting this trend.

“The approach we have adopted is comprehensive and is based on strengthening the team from a people and expertise point of view, along with the ongoing projects to upgrade technology and infrastructure that will shortly come to fruition.

“People and culture are our most important resource. We have recently invested and worked towards developing and empowering the internal talents available at McLaren, and we already perceive and measure the positive impact.

“In parallel, we have been strengthening our roster by bringing new talents on board. The list was already strong and encouraging, and the addition of a high-end and skilled individual like Rob will further consolidate our ability to establish the highest technical standards at McLaren and be in condition to design winning F1 cars.

“We look forward to welcoming Rob in the near future.”

Marshall’s arrival at the start of 2024 will come at the same time as Sanchez, who is due to join from Ferrari. At present, McLaren is sixth in the constructors’ championship, 18 points adrift of Alpine after finishing ninth and tenth in Monaco.

Red Bull itself praised Marshall for the impact he has made in his time as chief designer and then as chief engineering officer, and confirmed he will step back from his current role with immediate effect before making the move to McLaren.

“We would like to thank Rob for everything he has done for the team over the past 17 years,” Horner said. “His work on the generation of cars that gave us four incredible championship doubles between 2010 and 2013 was truly outstanding. In the years since he has continued to be a key figure at the team and in 2016 took on the broader role of chief engineering officer which has seen him involved in other projects across the business.

“His influence will be missed but once again we thank him for all he has done and wish him the very best in his new role.”