Red Bull leaves key figure at home again as departure from the team appears imminent

Monaghan, who has worked for Red Bull Racing since 2005, is interested in taking on a new challenge with Cadillac.

Reportedly, Red Bull is said to be keen on retaining the engineer and has offered him an improved salary in an attempt to convince him to stay. Now, once again, Monaghan is absent from the Red Bull garage.

A couple of weeks ago, amid reports about his future, Monaghan was also absent from the British Grand Prix weekend. Red Bull stated at the time that his absence had been a pre-planned weekend away.

Of course, in theory, it’s possible he has a few days off again this weekend, but it’s also known that Monaghan was almost never absent. Now, he is missing two races in a row.

These are signs that Red Bull has sidelined Monaghan and that he may have started his gardening leave before moving to Cadillac. Monaghan could take on a senior technical role at the American outfit, as previously reported by this website. However, even if a deal with Cadillac is finalized, it may be some time before the Brit is able to start his new role.

For Verstappen, Monaghan's imminent departure would undoubtedly be a setback. The British engineer is one of Red Bull's longest-serving members and played a key role in the team's recent successes, further highlighting the ongoing exodus from the team. Over the recent years, key figures such as Helmut Marko, Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall and Christian Horner have left the Austrian outfit.