The Red Bull Racing F1 team’s Head of Race Strategy Will Courtenay will leave the team to join rivals McLaren.

Courtenay will leave Red Bull after two decades working with the Milton Keynes-based team, having started work there when the team was known as Jaguar before their takeover by the Red Bull energy drinks firm in 2005.

He also leaves his position as Red Bull’s Head of Race Strategy after 14 years in the role.

Courtenay will join the Woking-based McLaren team as their new Sporting Director. They have confirmed that he will report to Randeep Singh, who is McLaren’s Racing Director.

A specific date has not been announced for when Courtenay will leave Red Bull for McLaren, with the arrangement seeing Courtenay serve out his Red Bull contract. Some have suggested that he will make the move to McLaren in 2026.

The move will see Courtenay be the latest part of Red Bull’s higher-up team to depart. The team’s Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey announced his departure earlier this year, with the acclaimed designer announcing earlier this month that he will be joining Aston Martin in 2025.

Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley announced that he will be leaving in 2025 to join Sauber, where he will take over as Team Principal for the Swiss-based team ahead of their takeover by motor manufacturer Audi.

Courtenay will also follow Rob Marshall to McLaren, who became McLaren’s Technical Director after moving from Red Bull to the team earlier this year.

Red Bull recently announced a reshuffle for how they will operate after Wheatley’s departure. Gianpiero Lambiase, who is the race engineer for the team’s star driver Max Verstappen, will be the team’s Head of Racing, while Stephen Knowles has been named Head of Sporting Regulations, with the two taking parts of Wheatley’s role.

In a brief statement shared to the official F1 website, Red Bull said, “Will has been offered the position of Sporting Director. After a long and successful service, being with the team since the Jaguar days, we are sad to see him go but wish him all the best in this step up.”

McLaren’s team principal Andrea Stella told their official website that he was confident Courtenay would make for a fine addition to his team.

He said, “We are delighted to welcome Will to McLaren. His experience, professionalism and passion for motorsport make him the ideal candidate to lead our F1 sporting function. We are now entering a key phase in our journey as a team, and we are confident that he will be a great addition to our strong leadership team as we strive to continue challenging for wins and championships.”