Will Courtenay: The former Red Bull strategy chief begins his role as McLaren’s sporting director

Courtenay confirmed the news on his LinkedIn page., external “I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone I worked with at Red Bull. I made so many great friends there and I hope to see many of you in the ring. It has been an incredible two decades,” he said.

He added: “But now I’m looking forward to settling into my new role and team, and hopefully making more new friends, as I do my best to help McLaren continue its recent success in the coming years.”

Courtenay follows McLaren Racing Director Randy Singh in his new role.

Red Bull is expected to promote chief strategy architect Hannah Schmitz, who has worked closely with Courtenay over the past 15 years, to lead its strategy team.

The new Formula 1 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 6-8.

Before that, there are three pre-season tests for teams to prepare new cars after the big changes to the chassis and engine rules for 2026 – in a special session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on January 26-30, followed by two in Bahrain, on February 11-13 and 18-20.