Red Bull secures F1 chief engineer Monaghan with new contract

With a host of the deals of its senior staff members being up for renewal imminently, Red Bull has been going through the process of trying to shore up personnel for the next rules era that begins in 2026.

The need to get a move on and sort out these details has been further ramped up by the decision of chief technical officer Adrian Newey to leave the squad, with his exit set for the first quarter of next year.

A number of key Red Bull personnel have already had their futures set in stone, with technical director Pierre Wache having signed a new long-term contract before the start of this season amid interest from rival teams, especially Ferrari, in luring him away.

The Milton Keynes-based team also recently secured the future of its head of aerodynamics Enrico Balbo and head of performance engineering Ben Waterhouse.

Sources have revealed that Monaghan, who has been with the team since it took over the Jaguar squad for the start of the 2005 campaign, has agreed a new deal that will keep him at the outfit for the long term.

One of the next contracts to be sorted is that of sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, who is understood to have been scouting out opportunities at other squads, but is looking increasingly likely to remain at Red Bull.

The move by Red Bull to get its key technical and trackside staff in place comes amid plans to ensure the outfit is robust enough to continue with its success despite the departure of Newey.

The F1 design legend’s decision to leave the outfit means he has now been moved into non-technical responsibilities at the squad, with Wache adamant the team is well prepared for a future without him.

Speaking at last weekend’s Imola Grand Prix, Wache said: “Before it was a team effort to deliver this car and it’s not one person that delivers this car.

“We are prepared to work as a team to deliver a car even if one person leaves. It’s a shame, even more with this type of person like Adrian who is important, but we were prepared for that for sure. I think it’s something we have to prove this year and next year.”